A group of players kneeled on the ground with the rest of them lining up behind them. The group photo line-up was ready. Or better said: the winners' photo. The team with the red bibs which posed for the imaginary picture had just won a close training match against the bib-less players and played it up a bit after the "final whistle" was blown by assistant coach Matthias Hönerbach. Dominik Schmidt, who was among the "losing" team, found the action humorous despite losing. "They can celebrate a little with their win," said the defender with a grin. The photo scene Tuesday morning showed once again the good spirit within the Werder team.

For Schmidt, who played offensive midfield in the close loss, it was a positive session. It was his first after a two week break with an ankle injury. "It was a bit unusual. But I had a really good feeling," said Schmidt after this comeback to training. "We will have to see in two days how the burden is tolerated," said head coach Thomas Schaaf.

Hunt passes stress test

The coach said that also with the experience of Aaron Hunt, who returned to training last week. But after two sessions with the team, Hunt's muscle strain acted up and he had to miss the Gladbach game. The 24-year-old midfielder however is nearing a return to training. In the afternoon, Hunt, who was also hit with a fever on the weekend, passed a stress test with fitness coach Yann-Benjamin Kugel. "The test went well. On Wednesday I will return," said Hunt. Perhaps tomorrow Hunt and Schmidt will be the ones posing on the training grounds as the winning team.