Werder Bremen coach Thomas Schaaf will be making the trip to Braga for Thursday's UEFA Cup return leg without midfielder Diego. The reason is because of an incipient inflammation of the pubic bone, for which the Brazilian national team player underwent extensive treatment in January 2008.
Diego said: "The time was very short. I worked really hard in January. And that helped me. But this is not an easy injury. Problems come and go. And the stronger the burden, the bigger the problem is."
To reduce the stress on his body due to the tight calendar in the UEFA Cup and Bundesliga, Werder's Number 10 will remain in Bremen for treatment. "Two games with just one day rest would be strenuous for me. But I will be available again on Saturday against Frankfurt. And I will do everything I can to help my team," Diego said.
The following players are taking the flight to Portugal: Wiese, Boenisch, Naldo, Baumann, Vranjes, Fritz, Rosenberg, Özil, Tosic, Owomoyela, Klasnic, Sanogo, Jensen, Almeida, Borowski, Schindler, Mertesacker, Vander, Harnik, Kruse.