Bundesliga clubs return from training camps
January 19, 2015
The majority of Bundesliga sides have now returned from their warm training camp destinations as the second half of the 2014/15 Bundesliga season draws near. Bayern Munich returned without any injury concerns, but almost inevitably Borussia Dortmund did.
It's hard not to associate injuries with Dortmund, and despite a visit to La Manga, the association remains. Sebastian Kehl and Kevin Grosskreutz both picked up injuries in the friendly against Romanian champions Steaua Bucharest, leaving the news of Marco Reus' successful return to first team action almost secondary.
"My shoulder popped out. We put it back in, but I'm worried it's something worse," said Kehl to German newspaper Bild on Sunday. On Tuesday, it was confirmed that the former Dortmund captain separated his shoulder and would be out for four weeks. Grosskreutz incurred an ankle injury, but is expected to be fit for the restart.
Erik Durm is recovering from a muscle tear, Sven Bender is in post-op training after twisting his knee before the training camp and Henrikh Mkhitaryan is also returning from a long time on the sidelines. Mitchell Langerak, Shinji Kagawa and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang are all away on international duty.
Sorry start for Schalke
Schalke have concerns of equal size. Ralf Fährmann and Dennis Aogo have both suffered serious injuries, while Leon Goretzka and Joel Matip are working towards returning from time on the sidelines. The same could be said for Julian Draxler, Jefferson Farfan, Sead Kolasinac and Chinedu Obasi. Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting is representing Cameroon in the Africa Cup of Nations.
Bayern, on the other hand, were not troubled by such concerns. Only the long-term injured Philipp Lahm, Javier Martinez and Thiago are unavailable to Pep Guardiola. On their way back from their training camp in Doha, Qatar they picked up a 4-1 win over FC Al Hilal in Saudi Arabia. Goals came from Dante, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Robert Lewandowski and Claudio Pizarro before the club landed early Sunday morning in Munich. Guardiola celebrated his 44th birthday on Sunday, and sent his players home until Monday afternoon.
David Alaba, who celebrated his comeback in the friendly in Saudi Arabia, was heavily praised by Guardiola who labeled him "one of Munich's most important players." Guardiola also commented that Badstuber was "one of only few defenders in the world with so much quality."
Mixed bag of pre-season results
Dieter Hecking's Wolfsburg team finished their training camp in South Africa with a win thanks to a stunning performance by Ivan Perisic. The Croatian scored a hat-trick to seal a 4-3 win against Chippa United in Port Elizabeth.
Dortmund secured a 1-0 win against Steaua thanks to a goal from Jakub Blaszczykowski, and the result proved to be trendy for Bundesliga clubs in January. Borussia Mönchengladbach beat Rot-Weiss Essen by the same scoreline, Fabian Johnson the goalscorer, while Hannover 96 saw off Young Boys Bern thanks to a solitary strike from Joselu. Paderborn and Hoffenheim also won 1-0 to finish their respective training camps in Turkey and South Africa.
Hertha Berlin can't seem to shake their poor form though - they've gone without a win in January after an embarrasing 3-1 defeat to third-division Hallescher FC was followed by a 1-1 draw with Energie Cottbus. Hertha have lost Änis Ben-Hatira to international duty, while Alexander Baumjohann continues to work towards his return from his second consecutive ligament tear.
Cologne celebrate, Freiburg fit
Hamburg, who recently drew 0-0 with Astana in Dubai in a tepid affair, have lost Lewis Holtby to a collarbone injury and have striker Pierre-Michel Lasogga struggling with hamstring problems.
Cologne won the Florida Cup after beating Brazilian side Fluminense 3-2. Coach Peter Stöger saw the victory as secondary to the player development as Anthony Ujah, Bard Finne and Daniel Halfar all got on the scoresheet. Bayer Leverkusen had the chance to win the tournament but didn't take their opportunity as they lost 2-1 to Corinthians after a double from former Bundesliga striker Paolo Guerrero.
Freiburg showed both the good and the bad in their 4-1 win against third-division Preussen Münster and 5-0 loss against Karlsruher. Augsburg are also in search of some form after losing the final of the Belek Cup to Kaiserslautern (2-1). Mainz are still without a win in their preparations, recently drawing 1-1 with Eintracht Braunschweig, and will be without Ja-Cheol Koo for a while after the South Korean international returned home prematurely from the Asia Cup due to an elbow injury.
According to Bild, Germany's Bundesliga teams have 57 players out injured/unavailable at the moment. Bottom-of-the-table Freiburg though have the luxury of no injuries or absentees.
The Bundesliga returns on Friday, January 30 when Bayern travel to Wolfsburg.
jh/apc (dpa, Reuters, SID)