Bastian Schweinsteiger (r.) says he cannot wait for the second half of the season to start, posting a video of him in a wintry Munich
Bastian Schweinsteiger (r.) says he cannot wait for the second half of the season to start, posting a video of him in a wintry Munich

Bundesliga clubs in training - Updates

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Cologne - With the second half of the season now just over a week away, all 18 Bundesliga clubs are busy getting back in shape both at home and abroad.

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bundesliga.com has all the latest news and images as the league of the world champions gears up for the Rückrunde.

Friday 23 January

Hard at work

VfB Stuttgart are still hard at work as their training camp in Lagos nears its conclusion. This morning, they will be working hard in the gym before going for a run later...

Final test

If there is to be any cake for Robben's birthday, it will have to wait until after Bayern's final warm-up match ahead of the Bundesliga restart. They face Bundesliga 2 side VfL Bochum this evening.

Many happy returns

One man who may be forgiven for taking it easy today is FC Bayern's Arjen Robben, who celebrates his 31st birthday. It is just a week before the Bundesliga restart at VfL Wolfsburg so the Dutchman may not be permitted to eat too much cake...

Doing their bit

Schalke were out and about in the local community earlier today, visiting a children's hospital and school…

Translation: Schalke pros surprise kids in the area. [Follow the link] for more on a fantastic afternoon...

Thiago working up a sweat

FC Bayern midfielder

Thiago

is busy getting back into shape following his latest injury. It is not yet known when he'll be able to make his comeback out on the pitch though.

Stuttgart stalemate

Having won their three previous warm-up games so far this year, VfB Stuttgart had to settle for a 1-1 draw with Portuguese side SC Farense in their final friendly prior to the Bundesliga restart. Click

here

for an overview of your club's friendly fixtures and results.

Naldo injured

Wolfsburg defender

Naldo

was unable to take part in training today due to a knee injury and will be unavailable for the club's friendly against Karlsruher SC tomorrow. The seriousness of the injury is as yet unknown, but the Wolves will be hoping he returns to fitness in time to face FC Bayern in the Matchday 18 curtain-raiser next week.

Joy for Matip

Schalke 04 centre-back

Joel Matip

has taken a significant step towards a return to first team action after resuming full training today. The Cameroon international missed large chunks of the first half of the season with a foot injury and did not feature at all for the club after Matchday 12.

Setback for Hitz

FC Augsburg goalkeeper

Marwin Hitz

has had to delay his comeback from injury after suffering a knee strain. The custodian was expected to return between the posts in time for the Bundesliga restart having recovered from a partial cruciate ligament tear, but he now faces a spell on the sidelines again. Veteran shot-stopper

Alex Manninger

will continue in his place for the time being.

Hoffenheim win big

TSG 1899 Hoffenheim lived up to their free-scoring reputation in a warm-up game against Bröndy IF today, chalking up a 7-0 victory!

Blow for Gladbach

High-flying Borussia Mönchengladbach will have to make do without winger

Andre Hahn

for the time being due to achilles trouble.

Greetings from Götze

If only we were all on our way to line-up alongside a star-studded squad! Though we'd be less thrilled about the intense training under Pep Guardiola's watchful eye.

Tricky tie

TSG 1899 Hoffenheim are set to take on Danish top-flight outfit Brondby IF later today in their penultimate mid-season friendly.

Pearly whites

With a grin like that how can you not warm to FC Bayern centre-back Dante?

Lapping up the sunshine

Hertha Berlin are making the most of the warmer climes in Belek, Turkey, as they kicked off their morning with an early training session. Considering the weather in Germany they'd be well advised to make the most of it.

Eagles on the run

After being given the day of yesterday by head coach Thomas Schaaf, Eintracht Frankfurt are set to get the mid-season preparations ball rolling again this morning.

Bayern masterclass

League leaders FC Bayern München gave fans another behind-the-scenes look at training under Pep Guardiola as they showed off their shooting boots in a masterclass on finding the back of the net. Check out the video below.

Homeward bound

With SC Paderborn 07 travelling home this morning, just two Bundesliga sides remain on their travels. 'The bags are packed, we're about to head to the airport. Goodbye Belek!' reads the tweet.

Wednesday 21 January

Kampl on target

Kevin Kampl's first-half strike turned out to be the winner as Dortmund held on to record a 1-0 victory over Utrecht

Live-wire duo

Goaaaaaal! Dortmund lead Utrecht 1-0, with Kevin Kampl supplying the finishing touch to a pass from Marco Reus.

Dortmund in action

Here's BVB's starting XI for this evening's friendly against Dutch side FC Utrecht. Currently 0-0 in that one…

Hamburg lose to City

The game is over. A decent performance, but we ultimately ran out of energy. Full-time score 2-0 for Manchester City FC.

Injury fears allayed

There appears to be no lasting damage to Bastian Schweinsteiger's ankle after the Germany captain suffered a knock in training on Monday afternoon...

Back from South Africa...

...and in Wolfsburg, the weather looks a bit chillier than the clear skies of the Rainbow Nation. It'll matter little to the Wolves' stars, however, as their only focus is on overhauling FC Bayern at the top of the league.

Billy Goats settling back in

Good news for Leverkusen fans...

...as the club have confirmed that Germany midfielder

Lars Bender

is participating fully in this afternoon's training session. "Short passing in a confined space in two groups of nine is now the order of the day. Bender completely involved," reads the tweet below.

Excitement in Gelsenkirchen...

Van der Vaart starts for Hamburg

Joe Zinnbauer's Red Shorts are limbering up for a glamorous pre-season friendly in Abu Dhabi against English champions Manchester City FC this evening. A good chance for

Rafael van der Vaart

,

Johan Djourou

and Co. to impress ahead Matchday 18's clash with 1. FC Köln on 31 January.

Ballwork for 1. FC Köln

Fresh from winning the Florida Cup, the hard work never stops for 11th-placed 1. FC Köln. The club have just tweeted a Vine of

Anthony Ujah

and

Miso Brecko

(l.) knocking the ball about in somewhat chillier climes than those of the Sunshine State...

Leverkusen back on familiar soil

The

Werkself

are about to kick off their first session in Leverkusen after returning from their Florida training camp," reads this tweet.

Bremen up and running again

Looks like conditions in the north of Germany have improved considerably after the snowfall earlier in the day (see tweet from 10:48):

Happy birthday, Henrikh!

One of the Bundesliga big names, Dortmund attacking midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan, is celebrating his 26th birthday today.

Smiling faces at Bayern

The Bundesliga leaders just tweeted out a few impressions from today's practice session at their Säbener Straße training compound, with Jerome Boateng, Mario Götze, Thomas Müller and Pepe Reina (clockwise, starting top l.) all looking in rather positive spirits:

Bobadilla sidelined

Bad news for FC Augsburg and their second-highest goalscorer this season so far: "Raul Bobadilla is ill and won't be able to train today. Be well soon, Boba!" reads this tweet.

Make sure you also check out this nice little collage with the best impressions from the Bavarians' Belek training camp from which Markus Weinzierl's charges returned on Monday:

Stuttgart custodians at full throttle

The Baden-Württemberg club's goalkeeping trio Sven Ulreich, Thorsten Kirschbaum and Odisseas Vlachodimos are putting in an intense shift in Lagos, Portugal.

Their outfield colleagues, meanwhile, had some weightlifting on the agenda today:

Chilly times

With temperatures having dropped considerably in Germany over the past few days, both Werder Bremen and FC Augsburg are trying their best to cope with the wintry conditions:

"Using bright yellow balls in training today," says this tweet.

Paderborn in full swing

The Bundesliga new boys are giving it their all in their final training session in Belek. Coach Andre Breitenreiter's side will be heading back to Germany tomorrow after a ten-day camp in Turkey.

Easy does it

Light running is on the agenda for the Hertha players that were involved in yesterday's friendly defeat to Young Boys Bern.

Birthday boy

A very happy birthday to Simon Rolfes! The Bayer 04 Leverkusen captain and former German international midfielder, who is set to hang up his boots at the end of the current campaign, turns 33 today.

Eagles landed

Leading Bundesliga goalscorer Alexander Meier (r.) and Eintracht Frankfurt, meanwhile, have touched down in Germany following a nine-day stint in Abu Dhabi.

Good morning!

Hertha Berlin being one of three Bundesliga sides still abroad for their winter training camp, the capital club have just tweeted they'll be practicing twice today in Belek, Turkey, taking to the pitch at both 9:30 GMT/10:30 CET and 15:30 GMT/16:30 CET.

Tuesday 20 January

Limbering up

SV Werder Bremen could be about to welcome Germany Under-21 international Özkan Yildirim back into the first-team fold after injury. The 21-year-old midfielder has been out of action with an ankle problem since April 2014.

Endlich wieder mit dem Ball am Fuß: Özkan #Yildirim in der Reha. Komm bald zurück! #Werder #Bremen #svw

Ein von SV Werder Bremen (@werderbremen) gepostetes Video am Jan 20, 2015 at 10:31 PST


More good news…

… for FC Bayern. After Philipp Lahm enjoyed his first workout following ankle surgery earlier today, midfield duo Bastian Schweinsteiger and Mario Götze were snapped with the ball at their feet in this evening's team training session. Moroccan defender Medhi Benatia is also on the mend...

Berlin beaten

Hertha Berlin lost on penalties to Swiss side Young Boys in the Sun Express Cup in Belek. The game had finished 1-1 after 90 minutes. Jos Luhukay's charges will now face FC Thun in the third-place play-off this coming Friday.

Getting up to speed

Schalke full-back Atsuto Uchida is edging ever closer to a return to full fitness. The Japanese international is back in first-team training after recovering from a long-term knee problem

Lahm on the mend

FC Bayern München captain

Philipp Lahm

, who has been out of action since Matchday 11 after fracturing an ankle in training in November, kicked off his rehabilitation programme with a bit of light cardio earlier today...

Many happy returns!

As well as Stuttgart's Karim Haggui and Bremen striker Davie Selke, Eintracht Frankfurt midfielder Lucas Piazon, currently on loan from Chelsea FC, is also celebrating his Birthday today...

Ever-present

Not many people knew all that much about Juan Bernat when the Spaniard moved to FC Bayern from Valencia CF in summer 2014, but they sure do now...

A Foals legend

Borussia Mönchengladbach, meanwhile, who returned from their mid-season training camp in Belek, Turkey, last week, are saying thank you to a true club legend, as team captain Filip Daems is celebrating his tenth anniversary as a Foal today. The 36-year-old joined Gladbach halfway through the 2004/05 campaign from Turkish side Gençlerbirliği SK and it's hard to imagine the Belgian left-back pulling on any other shirt...

Beerens gearing up

After hurting his ankle in the spectacular 4-4 draw at Eintracht Frankfurt on Matchday 16, Hertha's Dutch winger Roy Beerens has started exercising with the ball again as he steps up his recovery.

Hoffenheim back in Germany

Bundesliga World Tour participants 1899 Hoffenheim have taken to the pitch in Zuzenhausen for the first time since returning from their ten-day trip to South Africa.

Skjelbred returns

After missing out on yesterday's training session with a calf niggle, Norway midfielder Per Skjelbred (front l.) was back in the thick of things this morning with Hertha Berlin in Belek.

Birthday boys

Stuttgart centre-back Karim Haggui is celebrating his 31st birthday in Lagos, Portugal, today, while Werder Bremen gem Davie Selke is 20 today. A very happy birthday, lads!

Bright side of life

Having escaped Germany's wintry conditions, both Hamburger SV and SC Paderborn 07 are enjoying the warm climates of Belek, Turkey, and Dubai respectively.

Schalke's schedule

The Gelsenkirchen club have two training sessions planned in for today, new signing Matija Nastasic and Co. will take to the field at 10:30 CET and 15:45 CET.

Frankfurt in full swing

Eintracht Frankfurt have already got today's session in Abu Dhabi underway. The Eagles will be flying back to Hesse tomorrow, ending a nine-day stint in the Middle East.

Royal Blues training match

Before we begin with today's updates, here's a nice little snippet from Schalke's training session on Monday:

Monday 19 January

Bremen defeated on

Despite the return of Franco Di Santo, Bremen were unable to avoid defeat to MSV Duisburg, slumping to a 3-1 loss against the German third-division side.

Hannover remain unbeaten

Hannover 96 have yet to concede a goal in mid-season, let alone lose a match. The Reds' recorded a narrow win over FC Viktoria Plzeň on Monday evening.

Full-time whistle has gone between #H96 and FC Viktoria Plzen. 1-0 win, but it should have been a lot more comfortable!

Di Santo boost

Argentine striker Franco Di Santo is back in the Werder Bremen starting line-up for their friendly against MSV Duisburg this evening.

Bon appetit!
A vital part of any fitness regime is a healthy diet, as Eintracht Frankfurt's Aleksandar Ignjovski will tell you...

Recovery

Ein von Aleksandar Ignjovski (@ignjovski) gepostetes Foto am Jan 19, 2015 at 8:54 PST


Berlin in Belek

Hertha are done for the day in Turkey. Jos Luhukay's side were the last of six Bundesliga sides to head to Belek for their winter training camp.

It's home time in Belek

Matip back in the fold

More good news for Schalke today as Cameroonian defender Joel Matip took part in first-team training for the first time since breaking his foot towards the end of November.

Crisp afternoon

Temperatures aren't quite as mild as in Doha, but a little snow never hurt anyone...!

Aerial threat

Bayern's World Cup hero Mario Götze, meanwhile, just tweeted this image showing him practicing headers in training:

Stuttgart warming up

Huub Stevens' men are getting in gear for their friendly against Albanian side KF Laci. Kick-off is ats 14:30 GMT/15:30 CET.

Happy returnee

Japanese international Atsuto Uchida was back in the thick of things for Schalke today having overcome his persistent patella tendon issues.

Public training

FC Bayern have invited their fans to come along and follow both today's and tomorrow's afternoon training sessions live and in person at their facility on Säbener Straße. Clearly an opportunity not to be missed if you're anywhere near Munich!

Flying Eagles

Eintracht Frankfurt are going to be a tough nut to crack if the agility of their goalkeepers in this video is anything to go by:

Uchida and Boateng in full swing

Schalke, meanwhile, have posted this snipped from the Royal Blues' practice session. There was good news for the Gelsenkirchen-based club yesterday, with both right-back Atsuto Uchida and midfielder Kevin-Prince Boateng returning from injury.

Wolves back home

Wolfsburg's team bus has just arrived at the club's service centre, close to the Volkswagen Arena.

Schalke's Monday schedule

Roberto Di Matteo's Royal Blues will be putting in two shifts today:

Hannover up and running

Tayfun Korkut's men are currently in training and will be up against Czech first division side FC Viktoria Plzen today in Turkey.

Bayern back to work

Having enjoyed a day off after touching Munich ground yesterday, Bundesliga pacesetters FC Bayern München will be resuming pre-season preparations at the club's training ground today. The record champions spent eight days in Qatar before securing a friendly victory in Riyadh against Al-Hilal on Saturday.

Bamba extends

Eintracht Frankfurt, meanwhile, have announced that first-choice centre-back Bamba Anderson has put pen to paper under a three-year contract extension.

Augsburg on their way

After some early-morning exercises in their team hotel in Antalya, Bundesliga surprise package FC Augsburg are currently making their way to the airport to travel back home after nine days in Belek.

No let-up...

The Bundesliga's leading goalscorer Alexander Meier continued his fine scoring form last night, striking a brace in Eintracht Frankfurt's 3-1 win over Al Ain FC. The Eagles were back on the training pitch this morning, however, as they continue their mid-season preparations in Abu Dhabi.

Stevens satisfied

With VfB Stuttgart halfway through their nine-day stint in Lagos, Portugal, head coach Huub Stevens has given a positive account of the camp so far:

Wolves heading home

VfL Wolfsburg are on their way back to Germany after a one-week training camp in South Africa that saw them notch a dramatic late 4-3 victory against Chippa United on the final day in Port Elizabeth.