While all the fully fit Werder players prepared on Tuesday for the next home match against Mainz on the main training grounds, Marko Marin, Aaron Hunt, Tim Borowski, and for the first time Sebastian Prödl gathered at the Platz 10 grounds for a running session with physiotherapist Florian Lauerer. And there were different goals as focus.
"That was just an easy check if the muscle can hold up. I am going about it slowly. If there are no setbacks hopefully I can train with the team in a couple days," said the Austrian international defender Prödl, who injured his left thigh in the match against Dortmund.
Marin meanwhile would like to get back to training much earlier. The 23-year-old finished before the others in the quartet and went over to the training grounds to check out the healthy Werder players go about their work. "I will train there as well on Thursday," said Marin. Hunt is also able to now complete regular running sessions. "I am running daily on the grounds. That doesn't give me any problems. I don't have any pain. If I do anything more then it hurts a little bit. So I will stick to the running sessions for now," said the 25-year-old Hunt.
Borowski, for his part, has been more active recently with the bicycle. He left his bike in the corner Tuesday morning and put on his running shoes. "Things are on schedule," said ‘Boro', whose last competitive match dates back eight months. Not among the runners was Mehmet Ekici. "I cannot say when. It's not really clear at the moment when he can return," said head coach Thomas Schaaf about a return of Ekici.
