Hoffenheim coach Sebastian Hoeneß is worried about the deployment of important players ahead of the derby in Freiburg
Even on Wednesday, they were not able to train with their colleagues again. So it’s going to be tight for Florian Grillitsch and Dennis Geiger until the southern summit on Saturday in Freiburg, where the fourth-placed team in the table and its direct rival face each other. Grillitsch had already been out at short notice before the game against Frankfurt, the Austrian caught a cold, but Coronatests were negative. Nevertheless, the recovery does not seem to be going as quickly as necessary to make it to Saturday, so the 26-year-old is likely to be missing at least from the starting eleven.
Things are also getting tight for Geiger. The midfielder, who was substituted prematurely due to muscular problems after a strong performance crowned by a dream goal against Frankfurt, will have to cautiously return to full fitness. Whether that will be possible by Saturday is currently open. With Geiger, all parties involved will exercise extreme caution due to past experience and his injury history and, if in doubt, will start later rather than too early.
Wing dribbler Jacob Bruun Larsen will also be out too soon after muscular problems.
But Pavel Kaderabek should be ready to return to the squad against Freiburg after suffering an ankle injury and being forced to miss five games at the weekend. Rather unlikely that Hoeneß will bring the Czech right back from the start after the break. After another week of training, Andrej Kramaric and Christoph Baumgartner are now also pushing their way back into the team, leaving Hoeneß spoilt for choice.
Stefan Posch is also fit to play, although he will probably start with a bandaged finger. The Austrian took a painful shot against his hand from close range against Frankfurt and continued to play in great pain.
