Hertha updates: May 3rd seen as possible re-start date, Jarstein discharged from the hospital
Scheduling talks between the DFL and quarantined Bundesliga club Hertha BSC, taking place over the weekend, still haven't produced concrete make-up dates.
Some plans do begin to take shape. The team is eligible to return to the training pitch on April 30th. May 3rd stands as the earliest possible re-start date.
The German Bundesliga takes a weekend off May 1st and 2nd to make way for the semi-finals of the DFB-Pokal. Monday, May 3rd now serves as the target date for the first of Hertha BSC's make-up matches. This weekend's postponed fixture against FSV Mainz 05 should take place either on that day, or, at the latest, Tuesday May 4th.
Some plans do begin to take shape. The team is eligible to return to the training pitch on April 30th. May 3rd stands as the earliest possible re-start date.
This is reported by German footballing magazine Kicker, which has gained access to some of the plans discussed over the last three days as of Monday morning. According to the report, the make-up-dates for the round 30 encounter against Freiburg and the round 31 fixture against Schalke would be made up after the 32nd matchday. The round 33 encounter against Köln would be pushed back in order to allow for extra regeneration.
News from the Berliner quarantine is mixed. Trainer Pal Dardai, striker Dodi Lukebakio, and fullback Marvin Plattenhardt are reported by the club to be experiencing lighter symptoms days after being infected with the novel virus. Additionally, keeper Rune Jarstein has been discharged from Berlin's Charité hospital in the capital city.
"That was the best news of the day," club chairmen Carsten Schmidt noted on German television's Sunday footballing roundtable 'Doppelpass', "Rune was lucky. He's a well-conditioned athlete and was in very good hands at Charité Berlin."
Meanwhile, on the Saturday evening TV program ZDF sport studio, acting club sporting director Arne Friedrich relayed the unfortunate news that co-trainer Admir Hamzagic was struggling with a deterioration of SARS-CoV-2 symptoms. Friedrich described the slide as "slight" and noted that the Hamzagic was "doing well under the circumstances."
Hertha's entire team and staff remain confined to their domestic quarters, although injured players Dedryck Boyata, Luca Netz, and Eduard Löwen were able to escape the quarantine by virtue of the fact that they were not with the team at the time of contagion.
Trainer Dardai was able to speak to reporters during a digital media round on Monday afternoon. He noted that his wife had also been infected and that his co-trainer was "having a difficult time". Dardai emphasized that the virus must "taken seriously".
More stringent social distancing measures and a new hygiene concept for all Bundesliga clubs are expected to be released by the DFL in the coming days.