It had been almost five months since Justin Njinmah last featured in the Bundesliga. After Matchday 26 of the 2023/24 season, the 23-year-old was firstly sidelined with hip and ankle problems, before missing the remainder of the campaign with illness. On Saturday, the striker marked his return to the side in the best possible manner against FC Augsburg.
Just 13 minutes after coming off the bench in the second half, Werder’s new number 11 nodded home a superb cross from full-back Mitchell Weiser. Njinmah got off the mark in his first match of the new league season, and again showed his credentials as a supersub for the Green-Whites.
The forward had already made a habit of injecting new energy into Werder’s attack last season, finding the net three times off the bench. “Justin had a good impact on the game. He didn’t just score, but was also a lively presence for his first 15-20 minutes on the pitch and then helped out defensively too,” said head coach Ole Werner after the game. The youngster had previously played 30 minutes of the Pokal game in Cottbus.
Werner was keen to emphasise that Njinmah would still need time to get himself back to 100 percent fitness. “Justin is really good at assessing what condition he’s in. We’ve always been communicating with him,” explained SVW’s head coach, who is optimistic for the next few days. “This playing time will obviously help him, as will scoring a goal. I think the next week of training will get him back to full fitness.”
