Marcell Jansen’s name was a surprise omission from the matchday squad last Sunday: muscular pain radiating from his right leg forced the left-sided player to pull out of the DFB Cup first round tie against third division Erfurt.
The condition, which first affected the player in training a few days earlier, was caused by a lower back strain affecting Jansen’s nervous system. “I made it through three weeks of pre-season, which is not something I’m used to,” Jansen reflected on Tuesday. Marcell has fallen victim to a string of injuries in recent seasons.
Be patient
The left-back insisted his current problems would not leave any lasting traces, as the injury was almost certainly a result of the gruelling programme in recent weeks. “I’ll simply have to be patient while it clears up,“ he said. Jansen will now pursue an individual rehab programme designed to return him to the squad schedule as soon as possible.
The new fitness team and the facilities provided by the performance centre mean that could happen this week. “I’m very happy with the arrangement, it’s good to focus on specific areas,” Jansen commented, although he declined to speculate whether he might regain fitness in time for Friday’s Bundesliga restart at home to Hamburg.
Borowski making progress
Tim Borowski also missed the Erfurt clash with a ligament strain in his left knee. “The recovery process is going really well,” the 28-year-old reported. “I’m just pleased nothing was torn,” he continued, relieved that the training ground injury was “nothing dramatic.“
Borowski is confident of making the matchday squad on Friday: “I’m making good progress and I hope it’ll work out.“ Although he has been unable to train with the team for nearly two weeks, Tim is confident his overall fitness is good enough for a competitive appearance.
Lack of match practice
Thanks to the intense individual training programme, “I don’t think I’ve lost much, the opposite in fact,” Borowski reasoned, although he admits to a lack of match practice. The Germany midfielder has had just 45 minutes on the field this summer, a half of the Supercup meeting with Borussia Dortmund.
Borowski intends to weigh up his chances of a comeback against Hamburg with Jürgen Klinsmann in the next few days. “There’s always hope,” he remarked, although his priority was to regain full fitness. “The main thing is that the ligament recovers the strength and stability it had in the past.“
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