Several hundred fans who made the journey to Brackel to watch a public first-team training session on Tuesday were rewarded with autographs and "selfies" at the end. With the spring sun beating down on them, the players picked up their pens and fulfilled the fans' wishes.

It was clear to those fans who watched the training session unfold that the injury crisis hindering the Bundesliga's tenth-place club has improved slightly in the run-up to Saturday's home match against SC Paderborn. Of the seven first-team players who missed last Saturday's away trip to Borussia Mönchengladbach, two - Sven Bender and Kevin Kampl - have since returned to training.

Even Marcel Schmelzer, who went into the game with an injury complaint and was substituted prematurely following a good performance, played a part. Marco Reus, on the other hand, continued his individual programme within the confines of the training centre. (br)