After almost six months out, left back Santiago Garcia has finally returned to training out on the pitch with his teammates. The 27-year-old has been sidelined...
After almost six months out, left back Santiago Garcia has finally returned to training out on the pitch with his teammates. The 27-year-old has been sidelined...
After almost six months out, left back Santiago Garcia has finally returned to training out on the pitch with his teammates. The 27-year-old has been sidelined since February with a prolonged knee problem. Melvyn Lorenzen also trained with the team after overcoming his knee problem, but Philipp Bargfrede was still forced to train alone.
There was a light session in store for the Green-Whites on Monday after an excellent performance in their 2-1 win over West Ham United. Garcia and Lorenzen made their first appearance back alongside their teammates as they work towards their comebacks from injury, and whilst both players were able to take part in every exercise laid on for the team, it does not yet mean that they are ready to rejoin full training. Both will be eased into their workload and slowly but surely prepared to return to action on the pitch.

For Santiago Garcia, his comeback from injury after a six-month absence means the end of a long and difficult period in his career. Therefore he was visibly pleased after completing his first training session on Monday. "It felt really good to be back on the pitch, and I was able to take part in everything. There were a couple of situations where others showed me a little more respect than normal, but that'll get better every day. In any case I'm really happy to be able to get out there with my teammates again!"
The left back will soon sit down with head coach Viktor Skripnik to discuss the next steps for his re-integration into the team. "This week I'll have a chat with the head coach - he'll give me some feedback on how I've been training so far and we'll decide together when I'll make my full comeback to training," Garcia told WERDER.DE.
Melvyn Lorenzen has also been out of action since Werder's training camp in Neuruppin. The striker is also under the same instructions as Garcia: take it easy! The 20-year-old is also positive about his situation. "After a three-week break, training with the team again felt really good and my body was working really well," said Lorenzen.
Philipp Bargfrede wasn't present at the morning's session - after recovering for an ankle injury, the midfielder will continue to undergo individual training and hopes to be back with the team on Wednesday.
