Bundesliga clubs in training - Updates
Cologne - With the second half of the season now just a day away, all 18 Bundesliga clubs are busy getting back in shape in Germany.
Click here to refresh this page
bundesliga.com has all the latest news and images as the league of the world champions gears up for the Rückrunde.
Thursday 29 January
What a luxury
Huub Stevens has praised his side's work ethic during the mid-season hiatus, but they're going to need plenty more where that came from the stave off relegation again.
Want more Bundesliga Action?
Touchdown
Not of the Superbowl variety we promise, but FC Bayern have landed safe and sound in Wolfsburg ahead of their top-of-the-table clash tomorrow.
Double whammy
Koen Casteels has been in the wars since joining SV Werder Bremen, but his recovery hasn't been helped by the same incident happening twice.
Late recruit
What a great deal for Hannover 96. "A warm welcome to Joao Pereira. Hannover 96 have signed the Portuguese international from Valencia CF."
The night before
VfL Wolfsburg have shot up shop for the evening and now it's about getting some much needed rest ahead of their home tie with FC Bayern, which could prove to be a defining moment in their campaign.
Get well soon
SV Werder Bremen may be without youth star Melvyn Lorenzen for the next two months, but fortunately for both the club and the player he went under the knife with no complications today.
Planes, trains and automobiles
Or rather, coach-bus-plane. After leaving their training ground on the club coach (see below) bound for Munich airport, FC Bayern then took a bus to get to the plane which will take them north. Bayern's journey to Wolfsburg is progressing and, with it, the Bundesliga restart is getting ever closer.
All aboard
601 kilometres separate Munich and Wolfsburg, a lengthy journey, but made all the more fun when you're with team-mates.
Wolves raring to go
If Dieter Hecking's statement is anything to go by then it appears as if VfL Wolfsburg are more than ready for the visit of league leaders FC Bayern München and the invaluable opportunity to narrow the gap at the top.
New surroundings
Set to walk out of the tunnel for the first time as a FC Schalke 04 player against Hannover 96 on Saturday, Matija Nastasic is familiarising himself with one of Europe's most modern stadiums.
Wait is almost over
'Final training session' are three welcome words following a five-week hiatus from Bundesliga action. It's difficult not to get giddy about the action getting underway tomorrow.
No mincing of words
As he has done throughout the winter break, Jürgen Klopp pulled no punches in his press conference ahead of the clash with Bayer 04 Leverkusen claiming that his side "have a long and difficult path ahead of us". Dortmund's head coach also confirmed that Erik Durm, Sebastian Kehl, Sven Bender and Jakub Blaszczkowski will all miss out and had an update on Ilkay Gündogan: "If [he's going to play] then Ilkay will have to take part in first-team training tomorrow. Leverkusen is questionable, but Augsburg is a certainty."
Fine tuning
Bundesliga survival is the objective for SV Werder Bremen who kick off their second half of the season with a home tie against Hertha Berlin. When trying to get off on the right foot sometimes it's the little details that can make all the difference.
Bad news = good news
While Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting's dreams of African Cup of Nations glory have been ended, there is at least a silver lining for his club:
Herd of Goats heading north
Team news
It's that time again - after a winter break which has felt like an eternity, the ball is about to get rolling again in Germany. Clubs are delivering their team news for the upcoming fixtures:
Jonas Hofmann misses out on Saturday. Reason: irritation (to knee injury) after burdening it. Optimism with Okazaki and Bungert.
Double Bayern blow
FC Bayern will have to make do without Franck Ribery and Rafinha for their trip to Wolfsburg tomorrow night, and their next two Bundesliga fixtures, after the pair were
by injury.
Cold? What cold?
Bremen are busy gearing up for their clash with Hertha Berlin on Sunday, with their goalkeepers braving the snow to hone their skills further.
Plans, plans, plans
Here is Schalke's schedule for the day ahead:
Arslan departs HSV
Hamburger SV bid farewell to midfielder
Tolgay Arslan
yesterday after the 24-year-old completed his transfer to Turkish side Besiktas JK.
"All the best Tolgay"
reads the tweet below:
Early rising big-hitters
Both Borussia Dortmund and FC Bayern took to Twitter this morning to announce their excitement ahead of tomorrow's restart.
"We are ready"
, reads the caption next to BVB's picture of Marco Reus below.
Wednesday 28 January
Happy Holger
For FC Bayern fan favourite Holger Badstuber, every day out on the training pitch must feel like a new lease of life following two lengthy spells on the sidelines. By his own admission he may not feature from the start against Wolfsburg, but there's no doubting he'll be battling to play a role in the second half of the record title holders' potentially record-breaking campaign.
Werder woes
Having already lost Melvyn Lorenzen to a long-term injury (scroll down), Werder Bremen have suffered another injury blow to one of their up-and-coming stars, though fortunately it doesn't appear to be as serious.
Winter wonderland
FC Bayern centre-back Dante has just discovered the emoji option on his smartphone, but at least he's putting it to good use.
Smiles all around
It may be hard work, but surely everyday of being a professional footballer is 'Fun at work day'. The same could be said of the
bundesliga.com
offices, Schalke for one seem to be getting in the spirit.
Early return
With Hiroshi Kiyotake already back in first-team training it appears Hannover 96's numbers will be bolstered again just in time for the
Rückrunde
with the club announcing: "Return in two days: Following Senegal's exit from AFCON 2015, Salif Sane will come back to Hanover on Friday."
Bayern's 12th man
So we've had the
, and now Bayern forward Claudio Pizarro has thought up another entertaining idea for the winter break...
Samurai Blues sharpen Frankfurt sword
Japan internationals Takashi Inui and Makoto Hasebe are back in team training at Eintracht Frankfurt after returning home from the 2015 Asian Cup. The holders suffered a penalty shoot-out defeat to the United Arab Emirates in the quarter finals.
Fine-tuning
FC Schalke 04 are putting the final touches to their
Rückrunde
preparations. The Royal Blues host Hannover 96 on Saturday afternoon.
Pulling away?
Positive is the only way FC Bayern's Thomas Müller knows how to think:
Bremen blow
Werder Bremen's preparations have suffered a setback with some agonising injury news - Melvyn Lorenzen has been ruled out for at least two months...
Boateng ready
Here's what Germany World Cup winner Jerome Boateng had to say ahead of this week's action. Perhaps he's getting bored training...
Gladbach pair missing
The Foals will hope that Thorgan Hazard and Alvaro Dominguez will be available to face Stuttgart at the weekend after sitting out training today.
Your Schweinsteiger needs you!
Despite what looks like a very grey day down in Munich, Bayern midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger is pumped for Friday's game against Wolfsburg.
"As you can see, there's a lot of snow on the ground in Munich... I hope you're all looking forward to the restart as well, that you cross your fingers for us against Wolfsburg and that we have a great start. Greetings from a beautiful Munich, your Basti."
Training is fun!
Hannover striker Joselu can't wait for this weekend's game with Schalke 04 - probably...
Uchida in action
may have missed the AFC Asian Cup due to injury, but he is now back on his feet and, as this tweet from FC Schalke 04 shows, ready for the Bundesliga restart:
Winter training
There are still wintry conditions in Munich, but according to German midfielder
, the sun is starting to creep through. Tomorrow, the Bavarians will be heading north to Wolfsburg in preparation for the first game of the second half of the season on Friday night (kick-off 19:30 GMT/20:30 CET)
Super Saturday
The first game of the
Rückrunde
is Wolfsburg vs. Bayern on Friday evening, but another date for your calendar should be Saturday 31 January, when Dortmund travel to Bayer 04 Leverkusen. Both games are live via the Bundesliga's broadcasters, with
to be shown in total this weekend.
Early birds
We're now just two days away from the return of the 2014/15 Bundesliga season, but let's start with some transfer news, as Mainz 05 announce the signing of striker Nicolas Castillo from Club Brugge. We'll have more on that when it comes in.
Tuesday 27 January
Wolves sharpening teeth
FC Bayern may be battling the snow, but VfL Wolfsburg are training just as hard ahead of the
Rückrunde
opener at the Volkswagen Arena.
A video posted by javi8martinez (@javi8martinez) on Jan 27, 2015 at 7:50am PST
Returning star
Back a few days earlier than expected, Hannover 96's Hiroshi Kiyotake doesn't appear to be too down in the dumps regarding Japan's early exit from the AFC Asian Cup 2015.
"The second H96 training session is underway and Hiroshi Kiyotake is in a good mood upon his return."
Vestergaard relishing Bremen challenge
'I'm coming home'
Ivory Coast striker Didier Ya Konan, who had been plying his trade at Saudi Arabian side Al-Ittihad since the beginning of the campaign, has returned to Hannover 96 on loan until the end of the season.