Munich (dpa) – championship cup, rain of confetti, beer showers – and as a contrast program tears for the relegated: The 57th season of the Bundesliga would have ended on Saturday with the emotional final.
Now it is only the 26th day of the game when the game of Corona starts without spectators. Which leads to prominent top performers like Robert Lewandowski, Marco Reus, Kevin Volland, Kevin Kampl or Suat Serdar, who had been injured before the forced stop due to the corona virus in mid-March, in the league final sprint for titles, Champions League places and in Relegation battle could still become a more or less decisive factor for their clubs.
At almost all clubs, the coaches rely on returnees, especially at Bayern. The biggest title hope for the league leaders from Munich is Robert Lewandowski. The 31-year-old Pole leads the goalscoring list with 25 goals ahead of national player Timo Werner from RB Leipzig, who has so far celebrated 21 goals. “Lewy is in top shape,” said coach Hansi Flick before starting to prepare for the restart on Sunday at 1. FC Union Berlin.
This game would have been missed by the best striker in the league without Corona, as well as the subsequent home game against Eintracht Frankfurt due to the fracture of the tibia at the knee at the end of February in the Champions League game against Chelsea. Even with the hoped-for comeback in the top game against Borussia Dortmund, which was scheduled for April 4, it would have been very tight for Lewandowski.
Now the ex-Dortmund can even warm up against Union and Frankfurt for the title summit at the end of the month at BVB. Kingsley Coman (muscle injury) is also fit again at Bayern. And Ivan Perisic started team training again after breaking his ankle on the foot. This gives Flick several important offensive options for the league sprint, especially since Philippe Coutinho and Corentin Tolisso are currently out of action after operations. Flick hopes at least that FC Coutinho, who is loaned out by FC Barcelona, will be able to intervene again “in the last games of the season”.
BVB coach Lucien Favre is still waiting longingly for his captain. International player Marco Reus is after his muscle injury, which he won at the Dortmund Cup knockout. suffered in Bremen in early February, are still missing in the district derby against FC Schalke 04. “I hope that I can help the team again soon,” said the 30-year-old. After all, combative Thomas Delaney is back in the starting blocks at BVB after a half-year break. In derby opponents Schalke, this even applies to several important players such as Suat Serdar or Omar Mascerell. Even defense giants Salif Sané are back on the training ground after a severe knee injury.
There are a number of players whose injuries would have meant the end of the season without a corona break. Bayer Leverkusen can hope again in the hot pentathlon for the four Champions League starting places on goals from striker Kevin Volland (syndrome band tear). Or RB Leipzig on Willi Orban’s return to the defense after a protracted knee injury. “If you like, the break played a little into my game,” remarked Leipzig’s captain. Teammate Kevin Kampl is also facing his first deployment in 2020 after persistent ankle problems.
Werder Bremen urgently needs Ömer Toprak in the relegation battle. The defensive veteran needs a little patience after a foot injury, said Werder’s sports director Frank Baumann.
Some comeback hopes have been shattered despite the time saved because of the Corona break, such as that of Gladbacher at Denis Zakaria. The service provider now had to undergo knee surgery. The coaches will also have to be particularly careful with the returnees. The competition break was often significantly longer than the two months for healthy teammates.
“The risk of injury is increasing,” warned Gladbach manager Max Eberl in view of the tight schedule until the end of June. “This week is there to take on one-on-one and duels again,” Flick reported to players like Lewandowski and Coman. Each player has to be considered individually. “One takes longer, the other is faster,” said the Bayern coach.
A change in the rules could help the coaches to introduce aces like Reus, Kampl, Serdar or Volland with metered bets. At the DFL general meeting on Thursday, the professional clubs will also decide on an increase in the replacement quota from three to five players for the season to continue. “Five changes make sense in order to be able to better control the load, especially since the preparation was also not optimal,” said Gladbach’s Eberl.
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