German international Torsten Frings is looking at another long lay-off from football. The Werder Bremen midfield engine, who only returned from a knee ligament injury picked up on 24.07.2007 in the Champions League in October against Olympiakos Piräus, injured his right knee again in the Bundesliga at the weekend. Frings himself commented: “I had sudden knee pain during the game against Schalke. Before that I had no problems. A examination has shown up further damage to the knee.”

Werder’s doctors have had to opt for therapeutic measures: “The plan is to set the knee and then keep it rested”, explained Dr. Götz Dimanski.

Head coach Thomas Schaaf was clearly affected by the news: “That has hit us really hard. In the last couple of weeks, Torsten has again showed just how important he is to us. Losing him really hurts us. We can only hope that he is back to full fitness soon.”

Frings is now looking to the future: “It’s is simply just bad luck especially as I had just found my form again. I can only hope that after this break it’s all over for once and for all.”