Heynckes has 'ideas' over successor

Jupp Heynckes says he already has some ideas about who should replace him at Bayern Munich at the end of the season.

The veteran coach returned for a fourth spell with the Bundesliga champions in October after Carlo Ancelotti was sacked following a 3-0 humbling by Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League.

Heynckes agreed a deal until the end of the 2017-18 campaign and has made a flying start, winning six out of seven matches in all competitions and claiming victory on penalties in the other.

Under his leadership Bayern have returned to the top of the table – opening up a four-point lead – while securing their progression from the Champions League group stage.

Hoffenheim's Julian Nagelsmann remains the favourite to fill the role long-term, and Heynckes is already compiling a list of potential successors.

"It's agreed that I will stay until summer and until then the club has plenty of time to find the optimal candidate," the veteran coach told a news conference.

"I already have some ideas."

Next up for Bayern is the visit of Augsburg on Saturday, with Jerome Boateng and David Alaba in contention following recent injuries.

However, Heynckes will not rush Thomas Muller (thigh) and Franck Ribery (knee) back to first team action to ensure neither player suffers a setback in their rehabilitation.

"Muller has already taken part in large chunks of team training, Ribery has no more problems," added the head coach.

"But I'm a coach that takes these things very cautiously.

"[Juan] Bernat returns to the squad for tomorrow. After training I will make a decision about Boateng and Alaba. Thiago has a bruised knee and will most likely not play."