Season
24.09.24
“Baka” in and “Ferro” out for the new week of training
Preparation is underway ahead of the home match against SC Paderborn. Bakery Jatta is now back in team training, however Daniel Heuer Fernandes is missing after straining his adductor.
The HSV first team got back to work on Tuesday (24th September) at the Volkspark. After two days without training, which instead were occupied by physiotherapy and individual work, head coach Steffen Baumgart led the first team training session of the week at 14:00 CEST, in preparation ahead of the home match against SC Paderborn on Saturday (kick-off 13:00 CEST). The 52-year-old was able to welcome Bakery Jatta back onto the training pitch. The Rothosen’s record appearance holder in the second division has had to miss the past few weeks due to an ankle injury, but his return to training signifies another important step towards his comeback. “We are pleased with his recovery progress so far. He will be re-integrated into training this coming week, but we don’t want to put pressure on anyone that isn’t yet at 100%. With regard to the squad and the number of injured players, it’s certainly not a bad idea to wait a little longer,” Baumgart told the media after training.
Heuer Fernandes absent
While winger “Baka” could soon be available for HSV again, goalkeeper Daniel Heuer Fernandes is out for the time being. The 31-year-old suffered an adductor strain, which already saw him miss the previous draw at 1. FC Kaiserslautern (2-2). “Ferro is out this week and is fully focusing on his recovery. He has a slight strain, so we hope he’ll be back for the start of next week,” said Baumgart. The coach is not only spoilt for choice at the moment in terms of outfield players due to the deep squad, but also has excellent alternatives in the goalkeeper position. Matheo Raab, who earned the status of number one in the 2023/24 pre-season, missed the start of the season due to pneumonia but celebrated his return between the posts at his former employers last weekend. “Matheo did an outstanding job,” praised Baumgart, “it’s not easy for a goalkeeper to perform as he did at his old stadium and provide the team with such assurance. He did very well, but this isn’t the time to start discussing the number one position. We need more games before that.”
“I have often said that we want to operate as the whole squad” Steffen Baumgart
Besides the returnee and the absent keeper, the rest of the Hamburg squad are in a good position since no further injuries were sustained in the game against the Red Devils. Competition for places ramps up again in this week’s training. Not only did the substitutes who came on in the Kaiserslautern game give a good account of themselves but Immanuel Pherai, who has been ill recently and has therefore been limited in his training, will also hope to get back into the matchday squad in due course. “Every player is performing well in training. We are in a position where we can rotate the squad each game and select a line-up to combat the specific opponent,” judged Baumgart with regard to his depth of squad, adding, “I have often said that we want to operate as the whole squad. The 2-2 draw in Kaiserslautern was a typical example of that, where Moritz Heyer, who I had removed from the matchday squad, was then the first to join in with the goal celebrations. That shows what we value as important what we want to achieve.” The training schedule means three more exciting sessions are on the horizon, in which Baumgart and his coaching staff will work with the players ahead of the match against Paderborn. It’s great to see the boys back in action!