Football
Stephan Uersfeld, Germany correspondent 8y

Werder Bremen CEO: Aron Johannsson doubt for 2015 return after hip surgery

U.S. international Aron Johannsson is facing an uphill battle to return for Werder Bremen in 2015, the club's CEO Thomas Eichin has said.

Johannsson, 24, has played in six Bundesliga games for Bremen since joining from AZ Alkmaar this summer.

The striker has scored two goals, but is unlikely to add any more this year following successful hip surgery earlier this week.

Examinations this month showed a nerve irritation in Johannsson's right hip, and following an unsuccessful non-surgical treatment, the club decided the attacker needed surgery to be able to become pain-free again.

While the club announced this week that Johannsson is set for a longer spell on the sidelines, CEO Eichin has now given a more detailed statement on the attacker's state of health while also suggesting that the €4.5 million-signing had joined Bremen injured.

"It might work out that he'll play again in 2015," Eichin told Bild. "In the worst case, he will only return for the second half of the season."

Successful operation ✅ Work harder than ever to get back stronger ✅ Celebrate tonight when we win ✅ Thanks for all the kind messages! It means a lot ✌️ #WerderBremen #hardwork #dedication

A photo posted by Aron Johannsson (@aronjo) on

After Bremen reached the last 16 of the DFB-Pokal with a 1-0 win against Cologne this week, the club will play eight more games up until the winter break.

The CEO added that Bremen had been aware of Johannsson's nerve irritations, but did not think they would trouble the U.S. international too much.

"The medical showed that he could join us. But the work load had a negative effect," Eichin added. "We then decided that he needed surgery.

"Aron was on a good run. And we could really use his speed and his cleverness right now."

Following a good start to the season, Bremen have struggled in recent weeks. Viktor Skrypnyk's side and have fallen off the pace, and sit just three points above the drop zone.

However, they go into their meeting with in-form Borussia Dortmund on the back of two wins in the Bundesliga and the DFB-Pokal.

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