For the past three weeks now he's been back on the training ground. "At long last,'' he says. For almost six months he was forced to take a break from all football-based activity. His rehabilitation programme was pushed back and his patience was severely tested. Shortly before the final of the U19 German Championship, which ended with BVB winning the title, Luca Unbehaun underwent knee surgery. Instead of postponing the necessary operation on the cartilage in order to be able to participate in the final, Unbehaun though it better to go under the knife immediately. The goal: to return to full fitness as quickly as possible.

"Now I'm fit and raring to go," says Unbehaun. Nonetheless, he still needs to remain patient. But, soon enough, the coaching team will be spoiled for choice: Unbehaun is still only a U19 player, so he can play at that level or indeed make the step up to the U23s. There are plans to deploy him in the U19 Youth League, but whether or not he will be able to make his first appearance in Milan on 23 October depends on how he manages to progress over the next few weeks.

Open, inquisitive, eager to learn - and always determined

In any case, Unbehauen is currently training with the Bundesliga team, under the watchful eye of goalkeeper coach Matthias Kleinsteiber, who had the following to say about the 18-year-old: "Luca is a very open young guy, extremely inquisitive and willing to learn. He always tries his absolute hardest. That's the spirit in which he's started training again. I absolutely think he's on the right track."

In the beginning, Luca admits, training with the pros felt a bit unusual and unreal: "I was injured for a long time and just didn't feel like I really belonged. But the guys really took me under their wing. Now I have a brilliant feeling about it!''

As our conversation draws to a close, Unbehaun has one last request: "I want to thank Sebastian Märker, Heiko Bias and all the others for the rehab during the summer break. They did so much to help me progress," he says. The physiotherapists at the youth performance centre went as far as to postpone their holidays in order to work with Luca Unbehaun.