With the backing of literally hungreds of ecstatic fans, Werder Bremen got training underway in one of the most vital weeks of the season with Wednesday's Champions League tie against Levski Sofia being followed by the visit of Bayern Munich to the Weser Stadium. Yet the sunny early autumn weather could do little to camoflage the negative picture of both Frank Baumann and Christian Schulz having to take the session very easy. The captain Baumann, who was forced out of the tie against Bochum in some discomfort was again having problems today and completed the session on the exercise bike. "We'll have to wait and see over the next two days if there is any chance of involvement against Sofia", explained the midfielder who knows the decision could take until shortly before the tie to be made.
Christian Schulz, who has two goals from his last two Bundesliga games, suffered a foot sprain during the 6:0 win in Bochum and left him only able to trot a few laps of the trainings pitch. Trainer Thomas Schaaf was forced to make the dissatisfying statement: "We'll have to wait and see!", taht goes for Baumann, Schulz, Daniel Jensen, who is definately not available this week, and Tim Borowski.
The German internationals training session could be counted amoung the more positive aspects though. Less than three weeks after his ligament injury picked up against Barcelona, Borowski was back with his team mates in the thick of things and is hopeful of making the cut for Wednesday's game. "It has really gone sensationally, something like that normally takes up to seven weeks to heal but today was a lot better than yesterday. It wasn't a serious test but it was a good one so I'm quietly confident that it could work out." Borowski's taped up knee held out the full programme including shooting practice with the Champions League ball.
Johnnie Muldoon