Around three months after suffering a broken ankle in the match away to Bayer Leverkusen, Stevie Lainer was back on the pitch in Köln. The Austrian discusses his comeback and the bitter derby defeat in an interview.
Stefan Lainer on...
...his time spent doing rehab: I had really good guidance so I can be very pleased with how my rehab went. Now it's important for me to be able to give it the full beans in training again so that my physical fitness returns. But you have to look at it game by game to see how many minutes you're capable of playing.
...his return to the pitch: It was a good feeling to be out on the pitch again. I am really happy that it worked out for me to get a few minutes in Köln. My foot showed me that it was ready to take the strain. It worked out well. Obviously I would have hoped for a better result in my first game back, though.
...the defeat to 1. FC Köln: The match was disappointing for us all, we had imagined things going a bit differently. Unfortunately we let one or two chances pass us by before their goal to make it 2-1. Köln then got some new momentum from taking the lead again and after that everything happened really quickly.
...the atmosphere after the game: It's pretty obvious that the mood wasn't the best after the match. We know how important this match is – for us and for the fans. We let three important points slip away but life goes on. We have to keep our heads up because we have another tricky opponent to face next week.
