Marco Höger is leaving third division club Waldhof Mannheim at the end of the season. He is heading home.

Waldhof Mannheim will see the departure of two veterans at the end of the season. Marc Schnatterer had already announced his career end a few weeks ago. Marco Höger’s time with the third-division club is also coming to an end. The 33-year-old will not extend his expiring contract, the club announced on Tuesday.

The former Bundesliga professional of FC Schalke 04 and 1. FC Köln came to Mannheim two years ago and has played 45 games so far. Höger celebrated his comeback last weekend after tearing his cruciate ligament in autumn last year.

It is not yet known at which club Höger will continue his career. In any case, he would like to move his centre of life back to his hometown of Cologne. “My move to SV Waldhof Mannheim two years ago was a step I wouldn’t want to miss on my CV. It was another special time in my career, which I approached with a lot of commitment and will,” the defensive midfielder was quoted as saying in a Waldhof release.

Höger continued: “My cruciate ligament rupture this year was of course extremely unfortunate, so that I was not able to have the influence on the team this season that I would have liked. Now the time has come for me to go back to my home country.”

Coach Christian Neidhart praised Höger, who has 159 Bundesliga appearances on his CV and played in the Champions League with Schalke: “He has taken responsibility and helped us to establish SVW in the top third of the 3rd division.” The Cologne-born player has been the central figure in Mannheim’s game this season, he said. “Ball security, calmness on the ball and leadership qualities ensured that he was the clock generator for us. His absence was painful and certainly cost us stability. That’s why I and we as a club are all the more pleased that he has returned to the pitch fit after a lengthy rehabilitation.