Ludwig Augustinsson was given 15 minutes against Eintracht Frankfurt on Wednesday evening. The 26-year-old was glad to be back out on the pitch, despite the result. “It felt good after such a long time out. I’ve had quite a few injuries this season, which has been very frustrating. So at least it was a nice feeling to be substituted on,” Augustinsson told WERDER.TV.
Just by looking at his stats for the season, it is clear to see that Ludde hasn’t had the best of luck with injuries this year. He has only made nine Bundesliga appearances and just one in the DFB Pokal so far this season. It’s the Swede’s lowest number of appearances in the almost three years he’s spent on the Weser. “I haven’t been able to build up any rhythm this year. Unfortunately that’s just how it is sometimes, but I’m staying positive. However, I don’t have much time left,” said the full back.
Since Ludwig Augustinsson, Florian Kohfeldt’s usual left back, has missed a large portion of the season, the head coach has had to improvise a lot with his starting XI. Marco Friedl has recently been filling in on the left-hand side of the defence and has performed well in Ludde’s absence. This has led to a competition for places, which is welcomed by Werder’s number five, “Competition for places is always good and we’ve got at least two players in every position at the moment. The intensity is very high in training because everyone wants to show the coach that they deserve a place in the starting XI.”
This intensity will continue into the last few weeks of the season. Ludwig Augustinsson is aware of this, who wants to see the team continue on the right track. “We’re still in alright position but we have to give everything. Then we will finish the season out of the relegation zone,” said the Sweden international.
Leonardo Bittencourt and Milot Rashica are still doubts for the game against VfL Wolfsburg, according the coach Florian Kohfeldt. “Both of them will train tomorrow, but I can’t say for sure yet whether either of them will play,” said Kohfeldt with one eye on the final training session ahead of Sunday’s game.
It is, as of yet, unclear whether Rashica will play on Sunday. He picked up “another knock” in Frankfurt,” said Kohfeldt. Ömer Toprak and Niclas Füllkrug definitely won’t feature in the game, however. Füllkrug could be back against SC Paderborn or Bayern München, though, which is a bonus.
