No doubt Di Santo will play

From the stands to the starting XI: Franco di Santo will return to the team on Saturday (photo: nph)
First Team
Thursday, 19.03.2015 / 17:53

There's no real doubt over whether Franco di Santo will play or not, so Werder manager naturally had little to say on the matter other than: "Franco will definitely play...

There's not really any doubt over whether Franco di Santo will play or not, so Werder manager naturally had little to say on the matter other than: "Franco will definitely play on Saturday. He is our man for the big moments, he can create a goal from nothing", explained the boss. The Argentinean's, return after a one match suspension, does however raise other questions. Who will he replace?

Skripnik gave away little information on Thursday about who he would replace. He did however shed light on the competition for places in his starting XI. "There will definitely be one or two changes", said the Werder manager, referring to Saturday's game in Köln. Whether these changes, in light of di Santo's return, will be with tactics or personnel can perhaps be anticipated with clearer with further analysis of the opponent.

Even so, there is still the final training sessions to consider. "We need to wait until then. Before the Wolfsburg game, two players were injured during the final session", recalled the Ukrainian. One of those was Assani Lukimya, who has completed his first full week of training after recovering from an abdominal injury. "He's definitely an option for the squad", told Skripnik.

Four players back in April

Julian von Haacke was able to train with the ball on Thursday (photo: nph)

According to the medical team, more players should also be returning to the team in April. All four of Alejandro Gálvez, Melvyn Lorenzen, Özkan Yildirim and Julian von Haacke are almost ready for a return to first team training. "I have spoken to our doctor and from 1st April, they can all come back to training", reported Skripnik. Julian von Haacke completed a morning session with the ball, whilst Gálvez, Lorenzen und Yildirim are slowly making their way back to the training pitch. The fact is, however, that the more options available, the more questions Skripnik will have to face with his team selection. And they're not all so simply answered, as with Franco Di Santo.

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