The green football boots streaked across the pitch again. He had not practiced with his teammates for 46 days. Claudio Pizarro took part in team training for the first time...
The green football boots streaked across the pitch again. He had not practiced with his teammates for 46 days. Claudio Pizarro took part in team training for the first time...
The green football boots streaked across the pitch again. He had not practiced with his teammates for 46 days. Claudio Pizarro took part in team training for the first time since an ankle hairline fracture. Nearly everything he did seemed cautious and anxious. And that’s no surprise since the striker had not trained under competitive conditions in nearly seven weeks.
"I felt good during the session even though I had not trained in a while," said Pizarro after the practice, though he did not offer a prognosis about this weekend’s Schalke game. "Luckily we still have a few hours until the game," said the Peruvian with the wink. "We have to be patient a while to see if it’s okay. But I definitely do not have any pain like I did before."
Head coach Thomas Schaaf also would not offer insight to the fans about his personnel situation. "Claudio is on the game roster, but we will come together again tomorrow morning and see how he feels. Then we will see how much he can play," said Schaaf.
And as announced on Thursday at a press conference, Philipp Bargfrede (knee problems) and Christian Vander (groin operation) will miss the Schalke game.
For the top showdown on Saturday, Thomas Schaaf nominated the following 18 players: Wiese, Mielitz, Naldo, Fritz, Mertesacker, Boenisch, Prödl, Frings, Marin, Özil, Hunt, Almeida, Rosenberg, Niemeyer, Pasanen, Borowski, Jensen, Pizarro.
