Füllkrug in the squad for Paderborn game

Bittencourt and Rashica still questionable, Pizarro a late decision
Niclas Füllkrug is back in the squad for the Paderborn game (Photo: nordphoto).
First Team
Thursday, 11.06.2020 / 13:31

Von Yannik Cischinsky

Good news for Werder's attacking force - Niclas Füllkrug is available for the game against Paderborn. "It's looking good for him, provisionally he's in the squad," said Florian Kohfeldt. Close, late decisions will be made for Claudio Pizarro, Milot Rashica and Leonardo Bittencourt on whether they'll play in the game.

Niclas Füllkrug has spent the last five weeks in rehab training. He trained individually first, before finally joining in with team training for this week. "He's looked good out there. Here at Werder we never want to risk the health of our players and if it gets the point where he's struggling then we'll, of course, take the necessary action. We're responsible for him and we want to him to be an important part of the squad for a long time," said the Werder coach.

 

It's still unclear whether Claudio Pizarro will play against Paderborn (Photo: nordphoto).

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.

 

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