'Terrible' injury rules out Reinke
Thursday, February 9, 2006
Article summary
Werder Bremen have lost Andreas Reinke for the foreseeable future after the veteran goalkeeper fractured his skull against VfB Stuttgart last night.
Article body
Frings concern
Bremen captain Torsten Frings said: "This is a very sad and hard moment for us. He is our keeper and we will always stick together. We all hope deeply that he will get fit again." Reinke had played every minute of Bremen's successful UEFA Champions League group stage campaign this season, helping them to a Round of 16 tie against Juventus.
Wiese chance
Although the full extent of his injuries are not yet known, Reinke is not expected to be fit for the two matches against the Italian champions on 22 February and 7 March. In his absence, reserve goalkeeper Tim Wiese will get a chance to stake his claim. The highly-rated 24-year-old joined Bremen last summer but was sidelined almost immediately with knee ligament damage.
'Cruel blow'
Having just returned to fitness himself, Wiese was full of sympathy for the team-mate he replaced when making his Bremen debut as a substitute last night. "Sport can be so cruel sometimes," he said. "When I came on, I saw his blood on the pitch and knew the injury was a terrible one."
