Team talk, concerns about Arslan, Brumme and Kraulich are fit.

Rot-Weiss Essen is preparing for the match against the league leaders after the humiliation in Rostock. RWE coach Dabrowski is concerned about two key players.

On Wednesday afternoon, things got pretty physical on the training ground at Hafenstraße. The coaching staff of the third division football team Rot-Weiss Essen had organized an internal small-sided tournament for the second session of the day, with six teams of three.

The focus was on duels and finishing, with each team’s goals being counted. After the intensive session, assistant coach Lars Fleischer announced the result. “Yellow team” with Jimmy Kaparos, Torben Müsel and Ramien Safi scored the most goals.

At that point, Ahmet Arslan was already in the locker room. The Essen playmaker had previously remained on the wet turf after a tackle with Julian Eitschberger and was holding his ankle.

Although the 30-year-old signaled that it was not serious, he still had to stop training. The Essen team was unable to give a prognosis immediately after training.

Rot-Weiss Essen vs. Cottbus with Brumme and Kraulich

Three days before the home game against league leaders Energie Cottbus, it is also still unclear whether Manuel Wintzheimer will be fit and at full strength. The center forward is suffering from muscular problems, which is why the loan from 1. FC Nürnberg was unable to train on Wednesday.

Lucas Brumme and Tobias Kraulich were the only ones to miss the afternoon session. However, the defenders who were recently injured were present in the morning session and sat out later due to load control. Coach Christoph Dabrowski can assume that both will be ready for action on Saturday.

If Wintzheimer is unable to play, a replacement is already in place. Leonardo Vonic had lost his starting place to the in-form striker and has had to settle for the substitute role of late. The 21-year-old was last in the starting eleven on September 14. Coach Dabrowski had demanded that the Croatian offer himself in training. Vonic has been doing that so far this week. During training on Wednesday, he made a determined impression and was very accurate. He is also said to have made an impression in the previous sessions, according to team members.

Rot-Weiss Essen: Team meeting after Rostock debacle

After the 4-0 thrashing at Hansa Rostock, the Essen team, which has slipped into a relegation spot, is expected to respond against the strong promoted team from Cottbus. A players’ meeting at the beginning of the week was also part of the process of coming to terms with the Rostock game. After the defeat in Unterhaching (0-2) at the beginning of September, the RWE professionals had already sat down without their coaches to air their opinions.

Whether the discussion has had an effect this time will become apparent in the next difficult games. After the Cottbus game, RWE will face Erzgebirge Aue (A), SV Sandhausen (H) and 1. FC Saarbrücken (A). Without the necessary intensity, the red-and-whites face an unpleasant month of November in view of this program.