For the Werder players, this week’s first training session, ahead of the vital away trip to Karlsruhe SC, got underway with a spot of running. Coach Thomas Schaaf gathered his squad together for a session of endurance training in ‘Bürgerpark’ and set the Green-Whites off for a few laps of the area. Peter Niemeyer was missing from the session having injured a thigh playing for the reserves against Union Berlin: “The muscle just seized up and I was unable to continue. I can only hope it doesn’t take too long now to recover,” explained the Werder midfielder on Monday.
The goalkeepers were also exempted from the session in ‘Bürgerpark’ and instead got to work on improving their jumping power at the athletics hall in the Weser Stadium with goalkeeping coach Michael Kraft. The injured players, such as club captain Frank Baumann (ankle) and Sebastian Boenisch (muscle tear), went through individual programmes.