Jeremiah St. Juste will probably not remember Matchday 7 because he set a new speed record. After 20 minutes the Mainzer had to go out because of a shoulder injury, now he is back in training.
At the end of November, a rumour surfaced that St. Juste would miss Mainz until mid-February. It did not come true. On Sunday, the quick central defender took up training with the team. But it will probably take a while before he makes up for his shortfall. But more important than the when, from Mainz’s point of view, is the how with regard to the return: because in the past years, St. Juste’s shoulder has repeatedly popped out, which should be remedied by the surgery and rehab.
“He was out for a long time and will need his time,” says coach Bo Svensson. The Dutchman, however, is eager to make a comeback and is difficult to stop. “Jeremiah and Adam Szalai are two guys who are very, very good for the group. It makes a difference when they’re both on the pitch. “
Part of the rehab in Rotterdam
In addition, St. Juste continues to help the team with his tremendous pace, which has already attracted interest from clubs playing internationally. At the beginning of October, he had set a new speed record in the game in which he suffered the renewed shoulder injury. In the match against 1. FC Union Berlin, the Mainz player reached a top speed of 36.6 km/h, surpassing the previous record holder Alphonso Davies of FC Bayern Munich.
It took almost three weeks from the injury to the surgery. After the operation, the downtime was predicted to be three to four months. After St. Juste did part of his rehab in Rotterdam, he has been back at the Wolfgang Frank Campus in Mainz since 2 January, where he is doing parts of the team training and additional build-up exercises.
