If anything could have possibly slightly dampened spirits at the 'Day of the Fans', it was the sad news that Tim Wiese had torn the cruciate ligament in his left knee during Saturdays 2:0 friendly win over Hansa Rostock. The injury which was much feared after the game was then confirmed by an MRI scan at the practice of Neumann/Wahl at the Joseph Foundation in Bremen. Wiese made his way back to his home town of Bergisch-Gladbach on Sunday where he expects to undergo an operation performed by Dr. Schäferhoff in the coming week. "We expect him to be out of action for between four and six months", resigned general manager Klaus Allofs.
Trainer Thomas Schaaf delivered the bad tidings to Werders faithful during their open trainings session on Sunday morning: "We are all shocked, but we've got two good men in Andi Reinke and Kasper Jensen", explained Schaaf. "Tim is totally devestated at the moment as this is now his second cruciate tear and so it's also our job to help pick him up". The trainer is confident that Tim can make a comback. "Tim has a good character and is very determined, he can bounce back", claimed Klaus Allofs.
The position of first man between the posts at Werder has now been swung wide open. Klaus Allofs was quick to emphasise that Werders no.3 keeper had proven very impressive throughout the Green-Whites pre-season preparations and the club have 100% confidence in their young keeper if Andi Reinke should become injured. The general manager also assured: "We will definately be be signing another keeper". It could turn out to be an experienced man, or equally a youngster who can strenghten the under 23 side.
