Ekici, Stevanovic leave early

Fun was at the forefront of Werder training Wednesday morning as head coach Thomas Schaaf had his team playing football tennis a day after their 6-0 victory over a selection team from Tyrol. Not on hand were Mehmet Ekici and Predrag Stevanovic, who both left training camp early Wednesday morning to return to Bremen.

While Ekici already missed Tuesday's game with muscular problems, Stevanovic is suffering from knee ligament pain which occurred during the test match Tuesday night. "Both are travelling back to Bremen for a more exact examination," said Schaaf.

Marko Arnautovic returned to the team in the morning after missing the last two days because of the birth of his daughter Emilia. He returned to Zillertal overnight Wednesday as a proud father. "I had tears in my eyes when I had to leave my family. But it's my career and I am happy to be back with the two of them again on Saturday," said Arnautovic.

Sebastian Mielitz also had reason to celebrate on Wednesday as the keeper celebrated his 23rd birthday. His gift was a serenade from his teammates because the morning run-down.