Winger Mike Lewicki had to take a break for around ten and a half months after his horror injury. The 21-year-old now made his emotional comeback against Wuppertaler SV.
For Mike Lewicki of SG Wattenscheid 09, the Regionalliga match against Wuppertaler SV was a very special one despite a 1:4 defeat. In September last year, the young offensive player suffered a serious injury. Diagnosis: cruciate ligament, medial ligament and lateral meniscus tear. A day on which “a world came crashing down” for the now 21-year-old.
The right-winger had to miss a competitive match for around ten and a half months. Not only physically, but also psychologically, the injury took a lot out of him: “It was a hard time, and my family also had to suffer. Eight weeks after the day of the injury, I started from scratch and have been doing daily double sessions ever since. I believed at all times that I would eventually be back where I am now – and now I’m fitter than ever.”
Goosebumps comeback against Wuppertal
Lewicki has been back in team training for just under seven weeks and was thus able to complete his preparation. Whether it would even be enough for the matchday squad against WSV was not clear a few days ago. The surprise in the stands was all the greater when his name was listed in the starting eleven on the matchday sheet. Head coach Christian Britscho listened to his gut feeling: “Mike has indicated in training over the last few weeks that he feels ready. On Friday we had another long talk. He showed in training that he has no problems and that his head is also in the game. “
When the returnee heard at the matchday briefing that he would be allowed to start, he was bursting with anticipation: “In the past two days I could hardly sleep. Whenever I did, I dreamt that I was scoring goals again. When my name came up, my heart started beating faster and my legs were shaking. I have rarely been so fired up for a game.” After 60 minutes, the Dortmund-born player’s working day was over. “I would have loved,” he revealed, “to keep running for another 90 minutes because it feels so good to be back on the ball. “
Lewicki sees tough opening programme as positive
Lewicki does not want to be “irritated” by the two defeats at the start of the season against Preußen Münster and Wuppertaler SV. The attacker is trying to see the positive in the difficult opening programme and is optimistic about the upcoming games: “Maybe it’s not such a bad thing that we have the big hitters right at the start. After six to eight weeks, such teams are usually even more well-rehearsed. We want to learn from our mistakes and try to get the best out of them now.