#B04inAustria – Day 5: Retsos, rain, draw

unlucky Retsos departs early

Yesterday's second session saw Panos Retsos drop out after a sidestep led to pains in his right thigh. When the  19-year-old defender and team doctor Dr. Burak Yildirim stepped out of a minibus this morning in front of the entrance to the team hotel, the expression on the face of the Greek youngster was gloomier than the skies above.  Understandable: He limped through the lobby and just after that, it was clear the talented, young defender would be out of action for weeks. The diagnosis: Torn ligament in the back of the thigh. "Panos is really unlucky at the moment – first he breaks his hand when he falls off a bike and then this happening yesterday. It's annoying for him and, of course, for us too." said a moved Heiko Herrlich. Retsos set off later that evening for treatment in Leverkusen. Head up and get well soon, dear Panos.

numbers from the training camp

Following the departure of Retsos, there are now just 74 people (club management, players, coaches, staff and the media/marketing team) from Bayer 04 remaining on site in Zell am See/Kaprun. Talking about numbers: 60 balls, 35 aluminium cases, 7 bicycles (for coaches), 110 metres of fencing plus 12 vehicles (team bus, transporters, vans and cars) count amongst the equipment belonging to Bayer 04. On top of that, 250 to 300 litres of drinks are consumed each day (100 litres of that are electrolyte drinks) and around 500 kilograms of ice cubes.

Hradecky trainS with Ball

While his team-mates could look forward to a nearly free day on Thursday up to the evening, Lukas Hradecky this morning had to go to the pitch. In Zell am See, he completed a 60-minute session with goalkeeping coach David Thiel and assistant coach Xaver Zembrod on the training ground. The Finnish keeper came into contact with balls again – for the first time since his operation in the middle of July. The 28-year-old did not have to save any shots as the focus was on movement and reaction training. On the subject of training: The Werkself will be working individually at the team hotel rather than the training ground on Friday.

Draw in Friendly

The fact today's temperature was not as hot as in previous days and that cooling rain fell from midday had a positive side: In the early evening, the Werkself played the fifth friendly of the pre-season. At the Alois Latini Stadium – where the Herrlich team trained – they played Turkish top-flight side Istanbul Basaksehir FK in front of former Bayer 04 CEO Michael Schade. The game ended all square at 1-1. 

#B04INAUSTRIA FEATuring Lukas Hradecky

Lukas Hradecky has yet to play for Bayer 04 and in spite of that the designated successor to Bernd Leno is already in the good books of many fans with his humorous and open manner. In order to get to know the 28-year-old Finn better, who is being treated with kid gloves at the moment following the removal of a cyst in his jaw, we played a round of 'black or red' with him. Moreover,  Hradecky made sure he checked in on the Bayer 04 Instagram channel before and after the game. The conclusion: Lukas is a really cool dude. Other gems and all other up-to-date information on the Werkself in Salzburger Land can be found using the hashtag #B04inAustria (Instagram, Twitter and Facebook). Check it out. It's worth a look.