228 names on the slate, and an away trip to VfB Stuttgart to survive.
The head of medical, the club's head of medical, confirmed on Tuesday afternoon what the supporters already suspected: captain the captain will sit out the VfB Stuttgart fixture, and likely the two after it. The hamstring strain, sustained late in the Hamburger SV win, is grade one — the lesser of two possibilities — but the protocol is clear, and three weeks is three weeks.
Haugen remains a doubt with a light viral infection picked up at the training ground, while Bennani's persistent ankle issue flared again at Monday's session. Both will be assessed on Friday afternoon and a decision taken at the team meeting on Saturday morning.
The rest of the squad, per the Tuesday bulletin, is available and fit. No new entries on the slate; no new bone scans pending. A rare piece of good news in a department that rarely generates any.
Ole Werner, asked at the pre-match press conference whether the absences concerned him, offered his standard response: "Every squad has a casualty list. Ours is shorter than VfB Stuttgart's, and shorter than Pentland's. That will do me."
The Casualty List, in full.
The four-stage ladder, explained.
Stage I — Rest and acute management. First 48–72 hours, scans read, anti-inflammatories as indicated.
Stage II — Progressive loading. Pool sessions, stationary work, light controlled movement.
Stage III — Return to running. Grass work, cutting, sprints. Contact still restricted.
Stage IV — Return to training. Full session integration; match-fit only after two clean weeks.
— Dr. A. Rowan, Head of Medical
Of hamstrings, and other small tragedies.
Our archive reveals that Werder Bremen have, over the past five seasons, lost a collective 1,147 player-days to soft-tissue injury. The club ranks third-lowest in the division on this metric — a credit, supporters ought to know, to the patient and widely-unloved work of the medical department.
the captain's current strain is his first absence in fourteen months. He is, by some distance, the squad's most durable senior professional. For him to miss a derby is therefore, statistically speaking, a minor indignity. For us, a major one.
— Compiled from Werder Bremen archives
Every squad has a casualty list. Ours is longer than most. — J. Ole Werner, Manager