First team

Squad update from the Volkspark: Trio back in action

24 of HSV’s players, including Masaya Okugawa, Jonas Meffert and Immanuel Pherai, braved the frosty Hamburg weather on Thursday morning for an intense training session at the Volkspark.

The early-morning hours in Hamburg are characterised by extreme cold and temperatures well below zero. It was no different at the Volkspark on Thursday morning, but things started to heat up a little once the HSV players stepped onto the frosty pitches and started to train. 21 outfield players and three goalkeepers got straight down to business. New arrival Masaya Okugawa, who came away from yesterday’s session with an icepack on his knee, as well as Jonas Meffert and Immanuel Pherai, who had been feeling under the weather earlier in the week, all returned to training. With the exceptions of long-term absentee Sebastian Schonlau (calf injury), William Mikelbrencis (ligament tear), Tom Mickel (rib problems), and Ransford Königsdorffer (competing at AFCON), head coach Tim Walter had the pick of the bunch in the session two days prior to the first game of the second half of the season against Schalke.

This became immediately apparent for the 48-year-old in training on Thursday. The Rothosen kicked off their session with a small-sided game on a circular pitch with multiple mini goals, before switching to an eleven-a-side on a smaller pitch, and finishing with some set pieces. The session featured robust challenges, shouts from the players and plenty of attacking threat as they ran through various drills in the cold. The boys are all on track and fired up for the game on Saturday evening. With the roof closed at the Veltins-Arena, the weather should be a few degrees warmer for this weekend’s clash.