Even in his first few training sessions back, Füllkrug has shown that he's not lost his touch despite his absence. Whether it's playing one-twos, being dangerous in front of goal or being aggressive in the challenge, he's been doing it all in training since his return and has been impressing his coach. "We've kept an eye on him in recent weeks but he's back now. He really wants to help the team and we've already discussed how he can do that."
Claudio Pizarro has also been back training with the team, but only in part. Whether he'll play against Paderborn, will be "a close decision" according to Kohfeldt. "If he doesn, it will only be a short appearance," said the coach. Kohfeldt is still hopeful on Milot Rashica and Leonardo Bittencourt, but it "not sure whether the pair will be able to feature." Both players will take part in Thursday's training, but a final decision will not be made until after the final session.
Ömer Toprak will not feature in the game. "He completed a team training session on Wednesday, but won't be ready until the Mainz game," explained Kohfeldt.