Patrick Herrmann: "It was nice to wear the jersey again"

Patrick Hermann is back on the pitch. Almost five months after his last game in the Gladbach jersey - a 2-0 win against Wolfsburg on the 3rd October - the 25-year-old Germany international celebrated his comeback in the 2-2 draw in Augsburg. Having recovered from his cruciate ligament rupture, he was brought on to replace Ibrahima Traore in the 68th minute. In an interview with DFB.de, Patrick Herrmann talked about the special feeling of being back in Bundesliga action, the decisive moments in the game against Augsburg and his aims for the near future.

Question: Mr. Herrmann, how was it for you to return after half a year out?

Patrick Herrmann: Obviously it was a great feeling to be back playing after such a long time out. Despite this, it did feel a little unusual, it’s a bit different from just training. But as said it was just a great feeling.

Question: Is the injury still in the back of your mind and making you go into tackles more cautiously.

Herrmann: Not really. Normally it does still play on your mind a little, but so long as I don’t feel any pain I’m able to shut it out. When you come into a game like this in which you need to fight to keep up you forget about the injury.

Question: Can you notice a difference compared with the time before the injury?

Herrmann: When I tore my ligament it did hurt a hell of a lot. But now it’s pretty much back to the way it was. It’s not as though I feel anything in my left knee that’s different from what I feel in my right one. Obviously you are aware that the ligament is gone.

Question: You almost made it 3-2 straight away. By accident, albeit, and for Augsburg...

Herrmann: Yeah that was a weird one. Granit Xhaka jumps and misses the ball and I tucked my head in a bit. We got away with that one. ###more###

Question: What did you make of the game on the whole?

Herrmann: It was up and down. We could have scored again, as could Augsburg. So 2-2 is a fair result in the end.

Question: How frustrating is it that you weren’t able to hold on to the lead?

Herrmann: It certainly would have been brilliant if we’d held on to the 1-0 lead longer. When you come out after the break and concede two goals in quick succession it’s difficult to find your way back into the game. Luckily we did make it 2-2. Augsburg are obviously a really unpleasant team to play against - they go into every challenge and have a lot of quality going forward. So we have to be pleased with the point.

Question: Could you believe how the fans cheered when you were brought on?

Herrmann: In the end, yes. It is a great way to be welcomed back into the team. But for me the best thing was to be back on the pitch trying to help the team. Everything else happens from there.

Question: Is your next target to play from the start?

Herrmann: That will be quite difficult on Wednesday. My aim at the moment is just to get some more playing time.

Question: Will you be keeping your comeback shirt as a souvenir?

Herrmann: Nah, I won’t be doing anything special with it. It was just nice to be wearing it again.