St. Pauli head coach Alexander Blessin explained to Bild why club captain Jackson Irvine was absent from a friendly match against Holstein Kiel on 3 September (1-1), as the Australia international continues to recover from a long-term foot injury.
Irvine had been expected to be given some minutes against Kiel, as his return to full fitness draws ever closer. Blessin (52) acknowledged this, revealing: “He would have been fit, but the question is how much playing time we wanted to give him.”
Pauli’s head coach elaborated on what he and the rest of the coaching staff had considered, saying: “The question was whether to give him ten or fifteen minutes, or whether it would be more useful for him to simply do a proper, intense training session with Hauke Wahl and Eric Smith at home.”
Blessin added: “We decided that a sixty- or seventy-minute session in Hamburg would be better than playing ten minutes here. That was the simple reason. Next week he’ll be fully with us, with the team, taking part in every session. And if he takes part in every session, then there’s also the chance that he’ll be in the squad.”
It’s clear that Irvine’s comeback is on the horizon. When asked about whether Irvine would be available for selection for Pauli’s next home game against Augsburg on 14 September, Blessin gave a clear, one-word answer: “Yes.”
GGFN | Sam Carey
