Werner and Hasenhüttl provide injury updates, deflect questions on Keita and Behrens

Photo: Selim Sudheimer, Getty Images 

Underdog guests SV Werder Bremen head to Lower Saxony's "Autostadt" on Sunday hoping to somehow prevail over heavily favored VfL Wolfsburg despite having one of the Bundesliga's most anemic attacks. Ole Werner's enter the fixture having one produced one league goals from the roster's active strikers. Marvin Ducksch (against Mainz on match-day three didn't even score his lone league tally from open play, converting from the spot. 

Werner had more bad news to convey at his his Friday presser. Unfortunately, the team's leading goal-scorer - Danish hat-trick hero Jens Stage - injured himself in training and will be unavailable for the encounter. Skelly Alvero, a potential replacement for Stage, is also out after incurring injury on the training pitch. Werner specifically tapped veteran Leonardo Bittencourt as the one who will fill in for Stage. 

“Leo is the logical choice,” Werner noted at the presser, “He's experienced enough and also knows what it's like to come on when you haven't played from the start for a while. That's why I have no doubt."

Wolfsburg trainer Ralph Hasenhüttl had his own unfortunate injury news to report at his own press conference. Belgian midfielder Aster Vranckx - an important midfield component stationed alongside captain Maximilian Arnold in las round's 3-1 victory over Bochum - suffered a muscle injury in training and might be out long-term. Hasenhüttl did not name a specific replacement. Mattias Svanberg cannot reprise his role as he is also hurt. 

Both Werner and Hasenhüttl were pressed to provide additional comments on players experiencing "off-pitch" issues. Werner didn't have much to say about an article appearing in Britain's "The Guardian" yesterday in which disaffected transfer flop Naby Keïta declared himself fully fit to keep playing football. the Werder gaffer merely noted that Keïta had been treated "diplomatically" and moved on. 

Hasenhüttl, on the other hand, was a bit more talkative about the case of Kevin Behrens after the back-up striker courted some controversy over the international break for declining to sign one of the club's "diversity jerseys". Behrens apologized for allegedly saying he "wouldn't sign that queer shit." Hasenhüttl nevertheless kept his comments rather glib.

"It's clear how one deals with that," Hasenhüttl said, "One speaks to the player individually. He apologized. That means the matter is closed for me. Those who know me know that I have hard regard for his footballing abilities. That's what matters now."