U.S. international Bobby Wood has said he hopes to return when Hamburg travel to Bayern Munich on Saturday.
Wood missed Hamburg's draw with Freiburg last Saturday because of a thigh problem, and it remains unclear whether the 24-year-old will be able to make the trip to the Bundesliga leaders.
The attacker, a former 1860 Munich player, trained individually on Wednesday but told reporters: "It gets better all the time. I am pain free.
"Munich was my first stop here in Germany. It is a place I have special memories of."
Wood has scored four goals in 17 Bundesliga matches for Hamburg, with a further three arriving in three DFB Pokal appearances.
Hamburg have found their feet in recent weeks, and coach Markus Gisdol said Wood had been important to their recent revival.
"Bobby has developed into a top player," he told reporters, highlighting the importance of Wood's speed when playing on the counter-attack.