After a long period of suffering: tears for returnee Burkardt
When Jonathan Burardt hugged his girlfriend and family in the visitors' curve, a few tears were shed. The 23-year-old striker made a moving comeback on Sunday in FSV Mainz 05's 1:1 draw at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim - after a year out injured. "It was incredible. To be back here with the team. It's been such a long road. And I'm just happy that I could be back," said Burkardt in the DAZN interview with wet eyes.
The FSV fans celebrated their "Jonny Burkardt" in the Sinsheim stadium with loud chants. The former captain of the German U21 team had undergone two operations on his left knee due to bone marrow edema and was sorely missed by the Mainz team for a long time. Burkardt played his last match in the Bundesliga to date on November 13, 2022 in the derby against Eintracht Frankfurt.
"My feeling was that he would get a cross-field pass today and decide that. That would have been a round thing, of course," said Mainz interim coach Jan Siewert, who had substituted Burkhard after just over 70 minutes, in the press conference. Sporting director Martin Schmidt was naturally also delighted with the return of the top talent: "You could see that the boy can kick and play really well."
Burkardt himself admitted that he occasionally had doubts as to whether he would make it back into the professional game: "When you've been away for so long, you wonder where it will lead you."
Burkardt's comeback in Bundesliga was against TSG 1899 Hoffenheim, as he played for FSV Mainz 05. His return to the pitch was highly anticipated after a year-long injury, especially since he was a prominent figure in the German U21 team.
Jonathan Burkardt's first match back in the Bundesliga following his injury was a draw against TSG 1899 Hoffenheim, playing for his team FSV Mainz 05.
Source: www.dpa.com
