Matarazzo welcomes "Silas" back to light training: "Everyone was happy to see his smiling face."
The Congolese super-talent now simply to be known as "Silas" finally took up an individual training regimen this week.
While the soon-to-be 23-year-old's return from a vicious ACL tear will still take time, VfB Stuttgart trainer Pellegrino Matarazzo utilized the moment to reflect on the "better times ahead".
VfB Stuttgart's injury woes will still take some time to clear up. There is nevertheless some good news emanating from the Swabian camp. Attacker Chris Führich, for example, returned from a collarbone injury last week. The former SC Paderborn attacker greatly aided the VfB offense in the second-half of last week's draw with VfL Bochum.
While the soon-to-be 23-year-old's return from a vicious ACL tear will still take time, VfB Stuttgart trainer Pellegrino Matarazzo utilized the moment to reflect on the "better times ahead".
Of course, head-coach Pellegrino Matarazzo can't truly hope to run the sort of offense he planned to this season until lead-striker Sasa Kalajdzic returns in the new calendar year. There's also the matter of one of the Bundesliga's most exciting young talents, Congolese winger "Silas Katompa Mvumpa".
On this front there is also some good news. Earlier reports that the immensely talented winger was set to return to team training proved premature. The soon-to-be 23-year-old did, however, resume individual training this week.
"A beautiful moment," Matarazzo noted when asked to describe the return of the man friends and teammates have chosen to simply call "Silas" from now on, "Everyone was happy to see his smiling face. It was great for everybody."
In principle, Silas' rehabilitation program could benefit greatly from the coming international break. With the added benefit of some extra time, Stuttgart might be able to welcome him back shortly after league play resumes for the club on October 16th.
Matarazzo still remained cautious and insisted that there was no concrete timetable.
"According to the rehab trainers, there are levels he must progress through," Matarazzo said, "I'm not involved in the details of what that looks like in terms of timing. I receive the players when they're ready for partial team training."
"At a certain point, he'll come in for set-piece training or 3-on-2s," Matarazzo continued, "and then he'll gradually be introduced into duels. It will certainly be a few more weeks before he can be take the next steps in team training."
Given the level of detail the VfB trainer offered in his statement, one assumes that Silas may remain out through October at least.
Reha-Einheit auf dem Rasen. #Silas trainiert mit dem VfB-Rehatrainer Martin #Franz. 🌞⚽️💪#VfB pic.twitter.com/Bt6wHmqPq4
— VfB Stuttgart (@VfB) September 30, 2021
As for the current form of his team heading into the weekend encounter with Hoffenheim, Matarazzo struck an optimistic tone about the progress his team made over the week.
"We got a lot of content in during the short week, taught a lot with videos," he told reporters at the Friday presser, "We've stabilized defensively in the last three games. Now it's a matter of getting it right offensively. If we keep working like this, there will be better times ahead."
In einem Pressegespräch per Videokonferenz äußert sich Pellegrino #Matarazzo zum Heimspiel gegen die @tsghoffenheim. Die wichtigsten Aussagen des #VfB-Cheftrainers werden live getwittert. Mehr zur #VfBPK gibt's später auf https://t.co/1fIxY52F7k & #VfBTV. pic.twitter.com/DsZsX5fxtu
— VfB Stuttgart (@VfB) October 1, 2021