Reese fell out - Hertha with mixed feelings into training camp
Without Fabian Reese, Hertha BSC will attend the training camp without him. The winger is suffering from a knee ligament injury after a foul in the test match against Third League promoter Energie Cottbus and is ruled out indefinitely, as the club announced. This dashed the hopes of Hertha-trainer Cristian Fiel, who had hoped that "Fabian Reese hasn't gotten too badly injured", as the German-Spaniard said after the 2:2 in Cottbus.
Before the final sprint of preparation for the upcoming season, the injury of the 26-year-old joins the known problem areas of past seasons. "I am partly satisfied and partly dissatisfied. We missed too many chances to then score the equalizer in the last second – that bothers me extremely", said new trainer Cristian Fiel after the first draw following four wins against lower-tier opponents.
In Cottbus, the offensively-minded professionals gave away many chances and were not always up to par defensively against the Third League team, especially in the second half – a mirror image of the past season, which Hertha finished as the ninth place.
Fine-tuning in the Training Camp
For Fiel and the players vying for promotion places, it's all about finding solutions to these problem areas starting from Thursday in the training camp in the Austrian Walchsee. However, these problem areas were also a thorn in the side of Fiel's predecessors. In the quiet community in Tyrol, there are not only training sessions but also a first strength test against a top-tier opponent. Hertha faces the Dutch first division side NEC Nijmegen at the Silberstadt Arena Schwaz on Saturday (4:00 PM).
Reese is definitely out for the test against the Sixth-placed team in the Dutch Eredivisie, and it remains uncertain whether the former Kiel player will wear the Berlin jersey again. After the transfer rumors in the past few weeks, interest from Borussia Dortmund in Reese has reportedly rekindled. Haris Tabakovic, who scored the 1:0 against Cottbus, and Ibrahim Maza are also candidates for a transfer.
The Newcomers are expected to solve problems in defense and attack
There won't be a major overhaul like last year, when the team made several changes right up to the transfer deadline. Fiel has used this in the previous games to send the team out in various formations to integrate Michael Cuisance, who scored his first goal for the Berliners against Cottbus, as well as Kevin Sessa and Diego Demme.
From all three players, the necessary stability is expected to address the problem areas in defense and offense. Two and a half weeks remain before Hertha faces SC Paderborn for the season opener at home in the Olympiastadion on August 3 (2:30 PM/Sky).
- Despite Fabian Reese's absence due to a knee ligament injury, Hertha BSC will continue their preparations at the Training Camp.
- In the absence of Reese, the problem zones from past seasons, particularly in offense and defense, will be a focus during the training camp in Walchsee.
- Energy Cottbus, a Second Bundesliga team, posed a challenge for Hertha BSC in their last encounter, highlighting the need for improvement in defense and offense.
- Christian Feil, the new Hertha BSC trainer, is hoping that the newcomers Michael Cuisance, Kevin Sessa, and Diego Demme can help address these problem areas during the training camp.
- Despite Reese's uncertainty for future matches, the transfer-linked Haris Tabakovic and Ibrahim Maza also hold potential to strengthen Hertha BSC's offense and defense.
