Created on 06-07-2007 at 00:00 AM
Jan Schlaudraff prepared thoroughly for his move to Bayern. He quickly found a house, and ordered his new furniture back in mid-April. But eleven weeks later, his new pad is lacking a little by way of creature comforts. “I’ve got a bed, a TV, an old couch, and the kitchen – everything you could possibly need to stay alive,” he grinned ironically on Friday, telling his first official news conference all about some serious issues with a furniture supplier: “I guess my furniture’s not going to come now.”
Schlaudraff is also a little way off a first appearance in a Bayern shirt. He was forced to have surgery to fix a slipped disc in early June, and only began light rehab training a week ago. “I’m still very limited in what I can do,” the Germany international explained ahead of his 24th birthday on 18 July. “It’ll be another four to six weeks before I can start running.”
Unable to sit
Doctors advised the player not to postpone the operation any longer after he was plagued by long-standing back pain, and Schlaudraff spent the first three weeks of recuperation “unable to do anything.” Initially, he was not even permitted to sit, only lie flat. Now, treatment including daily lymph drainage and electro-therapy are helping to prevent any reaction from his back.
However, the one thing Jan needs more than anything else right now is patience. “My back needs time to recover gradually,” he explained. “I’d rather wait an extra week before making a comeback, and not cause any new problems.” He declined to offer a timetable for his return to full training.
Buoyant mood
When Schlaudraff signed for Bayern back in January, he will have had a very different vision of his arrival in Munich. The injury and his removal problems have meant “it’s been a very difficult start,” he admitted. However, the 23-year-old refuses to be downcast, “and I’ve been very warmly received here,” he enthused.
He puts the long lay-off down as a learning experience, “although not a very nice one. But perhaps it’ll help me in the future.” The break will be of more immediate help, in that Schlaudraff has plenty of time to select an alternative furniture supplier and a team of removal men. Jan needs to mind his back, after all.