Werder fans can breathe a sigh of relief at seeing Lamine Sané and Serge Gnabry back in training with the team on Thursday afternoon. Interim coach Alexander Nouri confirmed the news at his official pre-match press conference ahead of the trip to Darmstadt. There is now nothing to prevent them from being named in the squad to face the Lilies.
Gnabry had to leave Tuesday morning’s session early due to knee problems, and trained on his own that afternoon and on Wednesday. Central defender Sané was also suffering from a knee injury, which forced him to pull out shortly before the weekend’s match against Wolfsburg and rest over the last few days. “It gives us more options and more competition for places, which is what we all want,” said Nouri on the pair’s return. Aron Jóhansson will also be available for selection after serving a two-match ban.
Another two players who had been previously absent returned to full training this week, as Santiago García and Fin Bartels rejoined the squad for the session on Thursday. However, Nouri could not yet confirm whether the pair would be fit for the weekend’s game, saying that he did not want to “act prematurely” and making clear that the situation would be reviewed over today and tomorrow.
