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Rested Ribery ready for road-weary Lyon

Frenchman Ribery was taken off midway through the second half in their 7-0 thrashing of Hanover 96 on Saturday to conserve energy ahead of the Bavarians' first Champions League semi-final since winning the title in 2001.

"I believe he will be ready to play," coach Louis van Gaal told reporters. "I protected him a bit because he has had some stiff muscles."

Van Gaal, who has steered the Bundesliga leaders to the German Cup final and is on track for an unprecedented treble for a German team, can also count on striker Miroslav Klose after he overcame a stomach virus that kept him out of Saturday's Bundesliga match.

Experienced midfielder Mark van Bommel and defender Holger Badstuber will not be available for the first leg on Wednesday due to a suspension.

"Coach trips remind me of when I was young in Brazil," joked Brazil defender Cris, the Lyon captain. "It's difficult for everybody but we have to accept it," he told reporters.

"We're feeling good, we're about to play our first semi-final. What we need to do is forget about the trip to focus on our match. We'll be ready."

"It will be tough against Bayern," predicted Lyon coach Claude Puel.

"The Germans are always dangerous in big matches and Bayern just knocked out Manchester United. They have Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery hitting for them again. We know what to expect," he said.

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