Bayern Munich have played down suggestions Franck Ribery will not return to action before 2016.
Ribery, 32, has been sidelined with ankle problems since March and, while he has been able to do some fitness work, Bayern have not yet been able to set a timeframe for his return to the pitch.
The former France winger told kicker last week: "I do everything, really everything, that I am told, but the pain just won't go away."
However, Bayern sporting executive Matthias Sammer has told Bild that the club had no particular reason to believe Ribery would miss the rest of 2015.
"I don't know who says things like that," Sammer said. "What is accurate is that there is an uptrend, an improvement. We are working on it, but it's dubious to give a date for a comeback. The ankle injury is too complex for that."
Bild reported that Ribery is suffering with periostitis and that he still cannot run.
Sammer said that Ribery "is not happy right now" but is doing all he can to return to fitness.
"Our job is to support him to the best of our abilities," he added. "We do that. We need to be patient."
Bayern, who were also without Arjen Robben for the majority of last season's run-in, reinforced their squad with the signings of Douglas Costa from Shakhtar Donetsk and Kingsley Coman from Juventus this summer.