Andreas Reinke made his first public appearance on Thursday since being operated on following the horrible facial injuries he picked up against VfB Stuttgart. Werder.de were there to hear the 37 year olds comments.
Andreas Reinke made his first public appearance on Thursday since being operated on following the horrible facial injuries he picked up against VfB Stuttgart. Werder.de were there to hear the 37 year olds comments.
Andreas Reinke made his first public appearance on Thursday since being operated on following the horrible facial injuries he picked up against VfB Stuttgart. Werder.de were there to hear the 37 year olds comments.
Andreas Reinke on the support he received:
I would first like to thank everyone for the tremendous support I've received since the incident. I have been receiving well wishes from all sides, friends, fans and the club. With the one eye I could open first after the surgery I took on the task of reading through everything. That helped me. I thank the team of doctors too who performed such fantastic work.
...on the first days after the operation:
The first week after the operation was the worst, especially on Sunday and Monday when I couldn't move, just lying there on the drip. It's moral boosting when you can go to the toilet on your own for the first time. At that point I couldn't speak more than three words. My head was twice it's normal size. I couldn't, wasn't allowed to and didn't even want to use the telephone. Last Friday I took the train back through Bremen to my home town of Güstrow in order to recouperate for a few days.
...on his current condition:
I'm doing well. I'm not taking many pain killers, I can drive my car and go for nice long walks. Maybe tomorrow or the next day I'll take to the Ergometer to give my circulation a push.
...on the moments after the collision:
I realised that there was a lot of blood flowing. I first noticed that it was a lot of blood when I wanted to stand up to leave the pich and the doctor said I had better stay lying down.
...on the risks of the operation:
In the hospital the doctor explained to me exactly what had happened, what would have to be done and everything that could happen. His speech was a bit longer so I interupted him and told him to get cracking. I'm happy to be sitting here today, it could have been very different, I could have been handicapped.
...on the seriousness of the injuries:
The nose was broken two or three time as well as a skull fracture. Their where bone splitters in the meninges which could have damaged the brain. The doctors said that they'd only seen such brutal breaks after car crashes when someone had hit a tree. I'm lucky that I'm so heavily built. Ot was one of the worst moments in my life.
...on his fear prior to the operation:
To be honest, before the operation it wasn't clear if I'd wake up again afterwards. I asked the nurse for a pen and paper to leave a note for my family and clear a few things up. That was important for me before I maybe didn't know where I was anymore. Luckily it didn't come to that and the note was left untouched. That was a situation that worked out for the best - the best in a bad situation.
...on his plans for a sporting return:
I'm tinking positively. Since I opened my eyes after the surgery I haven't thought of giving up. In the next few weeks I'll start a few exercises for myself. The doctors are speaking about six weeks for the bones to heal but I'll have a mask made, I intend to return to team training before then. At some stage I'll make the step and not think about challenges anymore. When I've reached that point then we'll see in training how it should continue. I'm a worker and I'll work my way back.
...on Martin Stranzl, with whom he clashed:
Martin was in the hospital with me a couple of times. We spoke together and cleared everything up. When he says himself he wouldn't ever have gone in like that then I know it was an accident - normally nothing happens in a situation like that, either he hits me on the hand or jumps over me but he slipped at the decisive moment and I believe him without having seen the pictures again. 80% of people I've spoken to saw the clash exactly the same way.
...on how the accident will influence his future:
(Laughs). Of course I see things differently now but I knew before that football wasn't the most important thing in the world. I am sure though that thanks to my experience I can deal with it better than a young player probably could. Sur it will influence me but it's impossible to say how.
...on the team and the win against Juventus:
Last nights win was the best support the team could possibly have given me. It was a wonderful moment but also a little sad because I wasn't playing myself. We had worked for that for a whole year but that's how it is in sport, I have to live with that. That's what I'm trying to do.
