The Werder captain suffered a bruised thigh in the Bundesliga game against FC Bayern last weekend. “He would not have played any other game, if it wasn’t the cup semi-final,” said Kohfeldt. Kruse played through the pain barrier and completed the full 90 minutes. It’s not decided whether he will also play against Fortuna yet. The head coach will choose his side for the game shortly before kick-off.
Kohfeldt emphasised that he has enough options to compensate for Kruse being injured: “Johannes Eggestein is completely ready again, Martin Harnik is fresh and Yuya Osako did well after playing his first 90 minutes after coming back from injury.” Nuri Sahin is also back from suspension and will be another option. The midfielder had been suspended for the DFB-Pokal semi-final. However, for Fin Bartels and Philipp Bargfrede, the game comes too early. Bartels could rejoin first team training in the next few days. Kohfeldt confirmed that the striker should get some minutes before the end of the season.