John Brooks is set to return from injury, but his return to the lineup is far from guaranteed.
The U.S. Men’s National Team defender returned to Hertha Berlin training on Tuesday after missing matches against Schalke, Bayern Munich and Eintracht Frankfurt due to a groin injury. The centerback says his return comes “without any problems”, according to Kicker.
Brooks is an option for Hertha Berlin’s clash with Bobby Wood’s Hamburg over the weekend, but coach Pal Dardai insists that the coaching staff has decisions to make when it comes to the starting centerback partnership.
“John has made a good impression in the duels,” Dardai said, “but we are also very pleased with Sebastian Langkamp and Niklas Stark. We now have a healthy competition there. Someone will have to suffer a little bit.”
Entering this weekend’s match, Hertha Berlin sits sixth in the Bundesliga. Brooks and co. are five points behind leaders Bayern Munich, the only team to beat them this season.
