Timo Baumgartl was busy when he paid his colleagues a visit on Tuesday morning at the first practice session of the week. Here a chat with the coaches, there a hug, with more than 30 players on the pitch, his round of greetings took quite a while. Towards the end of training, he even tried the ball for a moment, easily plucking a high pass out of the air with his outside instep and playing it back flat. It will be a while before the 26-year-old central defender can play football properly again after his testicular cancer diagnosis and the associated operation, but at 1. FC Union they were visibly happy to see Baumgartl on the pitch again at all.
In addition to the surprise guest, the national players also returned on Tuesday. Christopher Trimmel, Julian Ryerson, Tymoteusz Puchacz, Genki Haraguchi and Andras Schäfer were still on vacation after their international appearances at the start of their preparations and therefore missed the short training camp in Bad Saarow last weekend. This also applied to Pawel Wszolek, who was loaned to Legia Warsaw in the second half of the season. The Polish league ended a week after the Bundesliga. However, Wszolek’s return should only be temporary, he is considered a clear candidate for a change.
The latecomers completed most of the session together with the team and then added a few extra runs. Jamie Leweling didn’t do all the drills with the team either. The newcomer from Fürth tore the lateral ligament in his ankle with the U21s at the beginning of June and is constantly increasing the strain. Leweling is not yet an option for the first test game of preparation on Wednesday (6 p.m.) in the Jahn-Sportpark against regional league team Viktoria 89. This also applies to Rani Khedira, who has been absent sick for a few days, but who is said to be doing much better
Coach Urs Fischer will probably rotate properly again against Viktoria in order to give as many players as possible playing time. Not an easy task with a 32-strong professional squad, especially since some talented players from the U19s are currently also training. After the first friendly against Viktoria, the second preparatory game awaits on Saturday (4.30 p.m.), away at 1. FC Magdeburg. In the coming weeks we will face Eintracht Braunschweig (July 6, 6 p.m., away), Bohemians Dublin (July 9, 3:30 p.m., home) and Taiwo Awoniyi’s new club, Nottingham Forest (July 23, 5 p.m.). , home). The two opponents for the friendlies in the training camp in Austria (July 11th to 20th) have not yet been determined.
