Pre-season may not have officially begun for SV Werder Bremen, but two Green-Whites are already working hard on the training pitch. Niclas Füllkrug and Kevin Möhwald are already preparing themselves for the restart after long injury lay-offs with extra sessions.
WERDER.DE caught up with Niclas Füllkrug and Kevin Möhwald to discuss their early returns from the summer holidays.
WERDER.DE: Niclas, training doesn’t officially begin until next Monday, but you’re already training today. Can you tell us why that is?
Niclas Füllkrug: "Everyone knows I was injured for a long time, which is why I need a little bit longer at the start to get ready."
WERDER.DE: Kevin, you have been back on the pitch since Friday, but your holidays were actually even shorter.
Kevin Möhwald: "I started training again last Monday, both on the pitch and in the gym, to be prepared and be able to join team training as quickly as possible."
WERDER.DE: Niclas, you were back in team training and played some games towards the end of last season, but do you still feel you have some catching up to do physically?
Niclas Füllkrug: "No, it’s just to get back into the swing of things. Obviously, pre-season will be tough for me, so I need to be well prepared so that so that my body copes well with the intensity and can complete all the drills."
WERDER.DE: Kevin, you missed a large chunk of last season. Now you are already preparing for the new campaign. How far away do you think you are from team training?
Kevin Möhwald: "I don’t think I’m too far away from team training, then we’ll have to see how I cope with the workload. I feel good in these sessions. The goal is to get used to the workload and I’m confident we’re not far away."
WERDER.DE: Today you weren’t alone on the pitch, as Niclas was there. A familiar sight for you, right?
Kevin Möhwald: "Yeah, unfortunately I know that face from all the rehab (laughs). I would have loved to not spend as much time in recovery with him and more with the team in training. For these sessions it’s good to know be completely alone before pre-season resumes. We can do lots of drills together."
It’s great for me that we’re going again so soon. I’m excited for the new season.Niclas Füllkrug
WERDER.DE: What sort of training are you doing before the official restart? How intense are the sessions?
Niclas Füllkrug: "We go out to the pitch a few times; I’ve actually be training for two weeks now. I do individual work in the gym and this week we were out on the pitch more so that I can get used to being on the ball. The idea is to avoid such a sudden burden when the whole team returns. We preparing so that I can be fully involved without any problems."
Kevin Möhwald: "It’s already quite intense – that’s how it should be, as I need to get used to the workload that we’ll experience during pre-season. We’re working on conditioning and football-specific aspects, as well as some strength work. One session on the pitch with football-specific work and conditioning, then a strength session the next day."
WERDER.DE: Niclas, there hasn’t been much time since the Relegation Play-off. Were you able to switch off in that time at all?
Niclas Füllkrug: "Yes, I could. It was great that we made it in the end, otherwise I would have been pretty miserable during the holidays. But it’s also great for me to get going again so soon, because I didn’t play much last season. I’m excited for the new campaign."
