There was bad news for the Green-Whites at their final training session on German soil before heading off to Athens. Goalkeeper Tim Wiese suffered an injury and will not be available for the Champions League clash with Panathinaikos...
There was bad news for the Green-Whites at their final training session on German soil before heading off to Athens. Goalkeeper Tim Wiese suffered an injury and will not be available for the Champions League clash with Panathinaikos...
There was bad news for the Green-Whites at their final training session on German soil before heading off to Athens. Goalkeeper Tim Wiese suffered an injury and will not be available for the Champions League clash with Panathinaikos on Wednesday, 22.10.2008: “It would appear to be a muscle sinew tear. There is no point in risking him for the game on Wednesday. All we can do now is be patient and wait for the results of a more detailed examination,” explained head coach Thomas Schaaf at the Monday press conference.
“He slipped and injured himself as he went to collect a cross in training,” commented reserve goalkeeper Christian Vander, who will replace Wiese between the posts in Athens on Wednesday evening. “It’s really a pity for Tim but I am absolutely delighted about getting the chance to play and I’m ready.” The 27 year old made his last competitive appearance for Werder Bremen on 17.05.2008. On the final match day of the previous Bundesliga season, Vander stood guard as the Green-Whites beat Bayer 04 Leverkusen 1-0.
By pure coincidence, Vander managed to get in some match practice himself on Sunday, as he filled in for the Werder U23 reserves. On the day the young Werder reserves lost 1-2 to Union Berlin, but as Schaaf said afterwards: “It was good for him to have been involved”, and the coach has every fate in the abilities of his number two keeper: “Christian is always 100% concentrated on the task at hand. His attitude is absolutely exceptional and I have no qualms at all about playing him on Wednesday.”
Aside from Tim Wiese, Thomas Schaaf will also be forced to make do without the services of Aaron Hunt (crushed knee) and Daniel Jensen (inflamed Achilles tendon). On a more positive note, there was the unexpected early return of Jurica Vranjes, who is fit and can join his teammates for the trip to Athens.
Thomas Schaaf nominated the following 19 man squad for the Champions League clash with Panathinaikos Athens: Vander, Mielitz - Boenisch, Naldo, Baumann, Pasanen, Tosic, Fritz, Vranjes, Niemeyer, Diego, Özil, Prödl, Sanogo, Frings, Rosenberg, Almeida, Pizarro, Mertesacker
