Alexandra Popp has already played her last game of 2020. The She-Wolves skipper is yet to return to training since suffering a foot injury in the away match at SC Freiburg in October. Ahead of VfL’s DFB Cup last-16 tie against MSV Duisburg this Sunday (kick-off 14:00 CET), Popp spoke to us about her injury and the timescale for her recovery.
Alexandra Popp, you suffered a foot injury in the away match against SC Freiburg nearly two months ago. How are you getting on now?
Alexandra Popp: “I’m doing well so far. I’d obviously like to be back on the pitch with the girls, but I’m not going to stop smiling just because that’s not possible at the moment.”
Is there a timeframe for your return to training?
Alexandra: “Ideally I’ll return after the winter break, but that’ll depend on how my foot reacts to the strain during fitness training. I can’t give an exact timeframe, unfortunately. I’d much rather be able to do so because patience isn’t exactly my forte.”
How do you asses the current situation in the FLYERALARM Women’s Bundesliga? You’re five points behind FC Bayern Munich – that hasn’t been the case for several years.
Alexandra: “Obviously we’d like to be top, but we’ve already dropped too many points this season for that. Five points is surmountable, although we need to hope Bayern slip up. It’s where we are at the end that counts.”
Let’s look ahead to the DFB Cup last-16 clash with MSV Duisburg. The She-Wolves won 5-2 in the league. Is the cup rematch likely to be another comfortable affair?
Alexandra: “I obviously hope so, then I won’t have to worry so much in the stands! Seriously though, the girls will want to keep the tempo high and create pressure like they did in the league game. That worked well, apart from the goals we conceded of course. They were unnecessary – a clean sheet would have been nicer.”
