Hertha BSC is hoping for the class of attacker

Fabian Reese’s life in recent months has been no different than that of an ordinary football fan. The visits to the stadium were both the best and worst moments of the week for the Hertha BSC striker. It was nice because then he could at least be somewhat close to his colleagues; bad because he wasn’t allowed to take part as a result of his ankle injury.

If Reese’s girlfriend is to be believed, that’s over now. Last Saturday she posted a photo of Hertha’s game against SSV Ulm on her Instagram account and captioned it with the message that this was the last visit to the stadium with her boyfriend.

And actually: When Hertha plays against 1. FC Magdeburg this Friday (6.30 p.m.), Fabian Reese should at least be in the squad for the first time this season. “If I don’t take him with me, there could be trouble,” Cristian Fiél, the coach of the Berlin second division soccer team, said on Thursday.

Reese was unavailable to Hertha for four months after his ankle was broken in the friendly against Energie Cottbus in mid-July. He had to undergo surgery, then practice patience for a long time and slowly fight back. At the beginning of last week he was able to train with Hertha’s team again for the first time.

Given this history, expectations of Reese are almost unhealthily high. On the one hand, they are based on the unsatisfactory current situation with twelfth place in the second league and now three games without a win. Above all, they result from memories of the previous season, when Reese not only stood out from his own team, but was probably the best player in the entire second division.

The fact that Hertha ultimately couldn’t get seriously involved in the fight for promotion was most likely due to the fact that the winger missed the entire winter preparation due to a corona infection. He missed three games completely, came on as a substitute in the fourth, and Hertha was unable to win any of these four games (two draws, two defeats).

It’s only logical that the Berliners long for his return. Reese is “a player who inspires us, who will do us good,” said goalkeeper Tjark Ernst after the disappointing 2-2 draw against newly promoted SSV Ulm last weekend. At the same time, however, he warned against expecting too much from the left winger: “He played an outstanding last season, but he took a half-year break due to an injury and needs his trust again.”

It was quite clear at the beginning of the week at the Berliners’ only publicly accessible training session that Reese is not yet back at the peak of his creative potential. During the final exercise, coach Fiél had three teams of five play a tournament on a small field.

Whenever Reese had a break with his team, he would lie horizontally with his upper body. He braced himself with his hands on his knees and breathed heavily. In terms of fitness, he himself admitted after returning to team training that he still had a lot to catch up on.

“Rehab training, no matter how strenuous it is, simply cannot be compared to team training,” said coach Fiél. The expectations that are linked to Reese’s participation and also the questions about his return as soon as possible: Hertha’s coach is therefore not entirely comfortable with them. “It doesn’t help me if everyone demands it and everyone expects it,” he explained. Because: “Let’s be honest: the boy was gone for four months.”

But Fiél himself fueled speculation about a quick return for the left winger a week ago. Before the game against Ulm, Hertha’s coach said he would talk to Reese again after the final training session – and then we would see what happened on match day. Then Reese sat in the stands in civilian clothes.

“I’m glad that he presents himself in training the way he does,” said Fiél before the away game in Magdeburg. But as a coach he also has a responsibility for the player: “You have to exercise common sense.”

Reason says that Fabian Reese cannot yet be as far along as everyone would like. But Hertha’s situation is crying out for him: for his offensive spirit, his enthusiasm, his conviction, his goals and his assists.