Having been forced out of full team training for the last couple of days due to a muscular problem with his left thigh, Tim Borowski returned to the Werder fold on Thursday and was able to complete the full training session: “It’s going well”, remarked the relieved midfielder after the session and his availability for Saturday’s game is now no longer in doubt.

And that’s just as well! Tim Borowski, along with Frank Baumann, Ivan Klasnic and Petri Pasanen, was one of the four remaining players who took part for Werder the last time they beat the ‘Royal Blues’ - 1:0 with a goal scored by Nelson Valdez. The current situation sees both sides locked in battle to take one of the Champions League qualifying places.

With that in mind, Borowski emphasised just how important it is to follow up their recent step in the right direction with a win against Schalke: “Sure we achieved something against Hertha but we need to continue now where we left off. That win only carries half its value if we drop points here.”

The German international took note of Schalke’s recent performance in Barcelona: “They played very well in the first half and we will need to be wary of that”, warned ‘Boro who went on to say: “They are very opponent oriented, which means a lot more mobility will be necessary on our behalf”.