Bastian Schweinsteiger expressed his delight at returning to Bayern Munich's starting XI at the Allianz Arena for the first time in seven months, but is already concentrating on the threat Augsburg pose this weekend.
Schweinsteiger, 30, led Bayern onto the pitch as the captain for their final Champions League match of the calendar year in Wednesday's 3-0 home victory over CSKA Moscow.
When Bayern played Stuttgart in the last match of the 2013-14 Bundesliga season back in May, Schweinsteiger was substituted with knee problems, which nearly ended his dreams of playing at the 2014 World Cup.
But the midfielder battled through pain to win the trophy after what may have been the best match of his career in the Rio final against Argentina.
The midfielder made one brief appearance during Bayern's tour of the U.S. in preseason before the same knee problems sidelined him for major spells of the first half of the current campaign.
At one point, it had been unclear whether Schweinsteiger would return to action in 2014, but he was back in Bundesliga action off the bench for the final 13 minutes of Bayern's 4-0 victory over Hoffenheim on Nov. 22.
He made two more Bundesliga appearances as a substitute, and also played a handful of minutes in the Champions League match at Manchester City on Nov. 25, and was pleased to be back starting for Die Roten.
"That was a whole lot of fun," he told Munchener Merkur after the CSKA win. "The last time I started a match at the Allianz Arena was seven month ago. I am just happy to be able to play football this year."
On Saturday, Schweinsteiger and Bayern visit in-form Augsburg, who have climbed to third in the league.
Bayern coach Pep Guardiola has yet to reveal whether Schweinsteiger will take to the field in their upcoming Bundesliga match at Augsburg, but the Germany captain knows that the game at their local rivals will be a difficult task.
"Augsburg have come on brilliantly. Their coach Markus Weinzierl has done an incredible job," Schweinsteiger told the club's official website.
The midfielder praised Augsburg -- who have won four consecutive Bundesliga games -- for their "high tactical levels" and "the incredibly smart players" in their squad.
"It won't be easy but we obviously want all three points," he added, setting the tone for the trip to Augsburg, which resulted in a 1-0 defeat back in April 2014.
"It's always difficult to play there. Augsburg do well due to their team spirit. They're solid and they have a clear idea of how to play football. It's not easy to go there and get a result," Manuel Neuer said, while Mario Gotze warned that "they have quality and work well as a team."
"We'll definitely show a lot of respect to Augsburg," added Bayern CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge.