"It was like a movie”: Weiser describes his “special moment” after “very difficult time”

Werder Bremen’s experienced midfielder Mitchell Weiser marked his return from a long-term injury with a goal in his first home appearance back at Weserstadion. The 32-year-old revealed the process of his comeback that took nearly 500 days in an exclusive interview with the Bundesliga.

“First of all, a lot of joy. I’m also very, very proud of that moment. But above all, it was a special moment that I’ll never forget,” Weiser looked back at the game against Augsburg where he scored an injury-time winner as Daniel Thioune’s side came from two-goal behind to keep their perfect home record.

“I said afterwards to the people around me that it really was like a movie, especially for me,” the former FC Bayern and Bayer Leverkusen all-rounder continued his explanation. “Over the last few months, as I got closer to returning to the team, I kept thinking more and more about my comeback and what it might look like. 

“Of course, I always imagined it ending with a goal. Then for it to actually happen, in my second game back, at home in front of our own fans, coming on while we were behind, then equalising and scoring the winner in stoppage time – it really was like a cheesy movie. I’m incredibly happy and proud that I was able to experience something like that.”

The former Germany U21 international also discussed the difficulty of spending over a year on the sidelines. “It was very difficult. First of all, just not being able to get involved was hard,” Weiser told the Bundesliga regarding the longest injury layoff of his career.

“On top of that, it really wasn’t nice to watch because we simply weren’t playing well and I couldn’t help at all. That wasn’t easy, no question. But I still had my daily routine. I went into rehab every week with a positive attitude. There are days or even weeks when things really don’t go well. Because I did my rehab here, I was also around the team when they weren’t happy, so it wasn’t an easy time.”

As the midfielder played 30 or more Bundesliga games in each of the last three seasons before his injury, the thought of retiring didn't cross his mind during those 14 months. “I genuinely didn’t think about retiring for a single second. But I did think a lot about players I’ve known since my youth who suffered injuries or maybe had several injuries and kept coming back. 

“I have to say going through rehab like this several times deserves enormous respect. You get a completely different perspective once you’ve experienced it yourself.” Weiser used the opportunity to admire those who consistently had to deal with serious injuries.

He also stressed the role of his family during the difficult time as he told the Bundesliga how his wife and children helped him overcome the challenge. “They helped me a lot, of course. Home is always my place of comfort, but during that time even more so. 

“I’m very grateful for my wife and my children. Obviously, my children didn’t understand that much about what was happening, but I think they noticed that I wasn’t doing what I had always done before, and you could tell they were a little worried as well. The positive side of the injury was that I had more time with my children and my wife, and I really enjoyed that even during such a difficult period.”

With over 200 Bundesliga games in his career, Weiser said he didn't feel nervous ahead of his first game back from the injury. “I wouldn’t call it nervousness. It’s more that you know you’re back on the stage where your absolute best is required. I didn’t really have doubts anymore, but maybe there was still one percent. It disappears with the first real challenge. You can’t overcome that hurdle beforehand in training; it has to happen in a game. So it wasn’t nervousness, but there was still maybe one percent of apprehension, and that disappeared very quickly.”

Weiser restricted himself when he was asked to compare the feeling of returning from a serious injury with playing in the Champions League and winning the Bundesliga with FC Bayern.

“I’ve already said that I think it’s a moment I’ll never forget, and I don’t say that about every situation. It was something very, very special. You can’t really compare these moments, but because I had been separated from my passion for such a long time, it was one of the biggest emotional explosions I’ve ever experienced. So it’s definitely right up there.”

Weiser is yet to start a Bundesliga game as he once again came off the bench in Bremen’s memorable draw with league leaders Borussia Dortmund on Friday evening.

"For me, my first goal is to become as match-fit as possible and hopefully soon start getting my minutes from the beginning of games,” Weiser specified his target for the season. “My goal is obviously to be completely fit for 90 minutes, which hopefully won’t take much longer. As a team, we still need to continue finding ourselves. That’s why we’re taking it game by game.”

The Bundesliga concluded the interview by asking his thoughts on the role of Marco Grüll and Nicolas Füllkrug. The duo continued their excellent start to the season on Friday as they combined for the injury-time equalizer in Dortmund.

“I think Füllkrug has already been a very important factor for us, especially because the striker position was still an area where we needed something. With his energy and experience, and the fact that he’s already scoring again, he’s very, very important for us. 

“And with Grüll, I’ve told him how proud I am of him. During pre-season, he was often the first substitute and was hardly ever in the starting eleven. But his attitude, his professionalism and the way he always tries to get the best out of himself while completely putting himself at the service of the team – it’s no coincidence that this is happening now. These are exactly the kind of players you want in your team. I’m super happy for him that things are going so well, and I hope it continues for a long time."