Alonso and Leverkusen ready to take a risk with Wirtz

Xabi Alonso says Bayer Leverkusen are willing to take a risk when it comes to bringing Florian Wirtz back from injury, with Die Werkself determined to catch Bayern Munich at the top of the Bundesliga table.

Florian Wirtz could return from injury sooner than expected, Bayer Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso told a press conference on Thursday.

The 21-year-old is making progress in his recovery from the ankle injury he sustained in Leverkusen’s 2-0 defeat at Werder Bremen on Matchday 25.

And with Leverkusen six points behind Bayern at the top of the table and still in the title race, Alonso is keen to call on Wirtz as soon as he is fit to play.

“I have spoken to ‘Flo’. He’s feeling better. Maybe he’ll be back sooner than expected,” said Xabi Alonso ahead of Friday’s game against Bochum, which comes too soon for the German international.

“He feels good in his ankle. That’s good. We don’t want to be conservative with Flo. We want to go full throttle, take a bit of a risk.

“If he can play a little bit earlier, we’ll take the risk. We can be optimistic.”

When asked when Wirtz is expected to be back in action, the Spaniard hinted at a return against Union Berlin on 12 April.

“We have the Heidenheim game, then Union… no, we’ll wait. We’ll take it one week at a time, but hopefully he can return sooner,” said Xabi Alonso.