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Leverkusen's Florian Wirtz leaves the pitch injured during the German Bundesliga soccer match between Bayer Leverkusen and Werder Bremen at BayArena. Federico Gambarini/dpa
Playmaker Florian Wirtz could return from injury sooner than expected as Bayer Leverkusen are ready to take risks in their final push towards back to back Bundesliga titles for which they must overturn a six-point deficit on leaders Bayern Munich.
Wirtz sustained an ankle injury four weeks ago, and coach Xabi Alonso told reporters on Thursday that he is getting close to a return, while stopping short of saying when that will be.
"His feeling in his ankle is good. We don't want to be conservative with Flo. We want to go full throttle, take a bit of a risk," Alonso said.
"If he can play a bit earlier, we'll take that risk. We can be optimistic that he will be back sooner than expected."
Wirtz' return will be an additional boost, and Alonso said that morale is already high after a last-gasp 4-3 comeback victory two weeks ago.
Bayer start the final phase of the season on Friday night against third last Bochum. A victory would see the gap on Munich halved for at least one night to three points before Bayern play St Pauli on Saturday.
"The goal is clear. We want to fight until the end," Alonso said. "We have the opportunity to reduce the gap to first place in the table and we want to use our chance to put more pressure on that."
Alonso named the next four games "key matches, and then we will see step by step" in the remaining four.
"April is a very intense phase of the league. Anything can happen. The will and the wish are very clear."
All players have returned healthy from the international break but Alonso has warned that Bochum won't be a push-over. They famously won 3-2 in Munich earlier this month, beat Borussia Dortmund 2-0 and rallied from three goals down to a 3-3 draw with RB Leipzig.
"Bochum have played well against good teams. They are fighting for important things as well and we have to be ready," Alonso said.
Alonso also dismissed speculation about his own future beyond the season as he is being linked with other clubs, most notably Real Madrid, despite a Leverkusen contract until 2026.
"There was nothing to decide," Alonso said, adding that there is no personal deadline whether he would stay or not.
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Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso attends a press conference, ahead of Friday's German Bundesliga soccer match against VfL Bochum. Federico Gambarini/dpa
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Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso attends a press conference, ahead of Friday's German Bundesliga soccer match against VfL Bochum. Federico Gambarini/dpa
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