Locked and loaded

The Norwegian international, who has Moroccan roots, has scored 4 goals in the first half of the season and, when both have been fit, has provided a wonderful partnership with Didier Ya Konan. Unfortunately “Moa” had been unavailable for over a month after tearing his abductor muscle and the resulting problems that stemmed from the injury. The complications were the reason that Mirko Slomka decided to send his striker to the Red Sea during his recovery for a well-earned break. The vacation was designed for “Moa” to rest his body, allowing him to concentrate purely on his recovery.

Despite Abdelloaue being back in training, it is unclear whether he will have a part to play this weekend, but Slomka may have to risk it seeing as “Didi” is out injured. It is likely that he will be assessed during training this week and given a chance to prove his fitness before the final match of the season before the winter break.

Sentence served

It has been five long weeks since 96-defender Karim Haggui was last in a competitive match. Unlike Abdelloaue, though, Haggui was not missing because of an injury and was instead seeing out a five-match ban that was handed to him by the German Football Association (DFB). The ban was a result of a needless moment of petulance from the Tunisian after he lashed out during the match against Dortmund and was shown a red card for violent conduct. Haggui has been determined to bounce back from his moment of madness and has been giving it 100% in training. It is likely he will jump back into Slomka’s squad on Saturday as he normally provides a large amount of stability at the back for the Reds.