Tim Leibold: "It was just the joy that prevailed".

The comeback in a competitive match in Braunschweig (17 July, 2:0) almost didn't happen. Although Tim Leibold was ready for his substitution on the sidelines well before the end of injury time, the game was not stopped and then the fourth official missed a possible substitution window for a throw-in by the hosts. Around 60 seconds before the final whistle, however, the time had come: Tim Leibold stepped onto the pitch at Eintracht Stadium and celebrated his hard-earned comeback 264 days after tearing his cruciate ligament. "I didn't think too much about it before my substitution, in principle it was just the joy of finally being back on the pitch in a competitive match that prevailed," explained the protagonist with regard to the moment of his return.

Review: Around 460 kilometres away from Braunschweig, in Nuremberg, "Leibe" suffered the most serious injury of his professional career to date on 26 October 2021. At his old stomping ground of all places (he played for the "club" from 2015 to 2019), the left-back had to be taken off the field on a stretcher, and the subsequent MRI examinations confirmed the worst fears. A long rehabilitation process began, but the left-back accepted it just as it suits his nature: with a smile on his face and a lot of positive energy. The vice-captain, who is highly respected in the team, did not let it get him down and fought his way back onto the pitch together with many helping hands. "My girlfriend also had to put up with one or two bad moods from me, so she certainly deserves the most respect. But the physiotherapists and Sebastian Capel also played a big role. The healthy mixture of meticulous work and light-hearted jokes was ideal for me. Of course, the phone calls with the family and the conversations with Sonny [Kittel, editor's note] and Stephan [Ambrosius, editor's note] also helped a lot. Especially in the beginning, when I had a lot of questions, they took away my fear."