“The only thing you can do is keep working”

Olivier Deman has been through a long spell on the sidelines. In August, the left-back broke his ankle in training – the first serious injury of the 25-year-old’s career. Half a year later, the defender is back playing and has been impressing with his performances. On his fourth appearance of the season last weekend, he registered his first assist – even if, as he admitted himself, it wasn’t entirely intentional.

It was the fourth of the five minutes of added time in Werder’s game against Borussia Mönchengladbach when Keke Topp sent the Weserstadion into raptures with a last-gasp equaliser. After a corner, the visitors were unable to clear the ball from the danger zone. Senne Lynen kept it in with a high, looping ball, Deman headed it behind him, and the ball eventually found its way to the scorer. “It was chaos,” the provider described the scene in the penalty area, where all ten of Werder’s outfield players had gathered. “I wanted to head the ball back into the crowd and hoped it would drop for one of our lads. Then Keke caught it sweetly. The ball landed at exactly the right person, even if I didn’t pick him out on purpose.”

It was an assist that also brought an end to a long period of frustration for the Belgian. Before the first Bundesliga game of the season, he broke his ankle in training and had to watch almost the entire first half of the campaign from the sidelines. An incredibly tough time, as Deman puts it himself. Never before in his career had he been injured for more than two games. “The only thing you can do is keep working, even if it’s hard,” the 25-year-old reflected. “You just have to try and get fit again as quickly as possible so you can help the team.”

Back on the pitch, Deman has been throwing himself into it. He played the full 90 minutes against Gladbach for the first time since returning and covered more kilometres than any other Werder player. “I’m really happy to be playing again, that’s the most important thing for me,” stated the defender, who has come back in a difficult period. “It’s hard for any team when you go a long time without a win. We have to fight our way out of it together now.” The unity within the squad leaves the 25-year-old optimistic that positive results will return soon. His team showed against Gladbach, as they have done before, that they won’t give in even when they go behind. “On the one hand, it might not be what we were hoping for before the game,” the Belgian made clear. “On the other hand, it’s important when you’re 1-0 down and you still score in the last minute. In the end we needed the point, and we’ll take it.” There are plenty of reasons, then, for Deman to be pleased with his assist.