Bayern Munich's French midfielder, Franck Ribery, has finally returned to first team training at the clubs Sabener Straße training base following a huge nine month layoff due to a succession of ankle injuries - that saw Ribery miss thirty eight first team matches.
The French international, who started his career with US Boulogne, has not played a game for die Roten since March the 11th as he injured his ankle in a 7-0 demolition Champions League last 16 tie against Shakhtar Donetsk at the Allianz Arena; Ribery had earlier scored the third goal against the Ukrainian side.
Despite nearly recovering to fitness on a number of occasions, Ribery continually suffered a string of setbacks and thus has only just recovered from the longest injury layoff in his career to date.
The Bayern Munich man told the club website that returning to training was "a super day for me and very emotional".
Plenty of midfield options at Sabener Straße
In the absence of Ribery, Pep Guardiola's side made no haste bringing in both Kinglsey Coman and Douglas Costa in wide positions. The aforementioned Costa had featured in both games against die Roten last season, including the game in which Ribery suffered his fateful injury.
Both have made great impacts at the Allianz Arena following their respective summer moves, with a combined nine goals between the pair. Franck Ribery and die Roten have a further five matches before the annual winter break.
Glittering career in Bavaria
Since making the move from Marseille to the Bavarian capital in 2007 Ribery has enjoyed a glittering career at the Allianz Arena - winning a total of fourteen major honours with Germany's most successful club.
Ribery has made a total of two hundred and ninety nine appearances for Bayern Munich, scoring on one hundred and four occasions and assisting on one hundred and forty nine. His current deal spans until the summer of 2017.