Franck Ribery will undergo new tests at the end of August to determine when he can return to action from an ankle injury, Bayern Munich sporting director Matthias Sammer said on Friday.

Troubled by the persistent injury to his right ankle, the 32-year-old former France international has not played since limping out of a Champions League match in March.

"A new test is scheduled for the end of August to see if we can step up his workload," said Sammer, who added that Ribery is still some way away from a return to action.

Bayern chairman Karl Heinz Rummenigge had said in July that he hoped Ribery would be "back on the pitch in the not too distant future".

The Frenchman is entering his ninth season in Bavaria, with Bayern playing their first game on Sunday at lower-league Noettingen in the first round of the German Cup.

Pep Guardiola's defending champions open their Bundesliga campaign at home to Hamburg next Friday.

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