Schalke arrive in Turkey without Kuranyi and Pander
06.01.2008
Schalke were welcomed by a royal-blue sky on arrival in Turkey on Sunday afternoon. With the temperature outside at 16 degrees, the players landed at the airport in Antalya at two o'clock in the afternoon. They then made a 30-minute journey by coach to Belek, where they will prepare for the second half of the season until Sunday. Kevin Kuranyi and Christian Pander were not on board, however.
The Schalke number 22 is still suffering from gastroenteritis and was placed on an intravenous drip over the weekend. If everything goes to plan, Kuranyi will travel to Turkey on Monday. Josef Schnusenberg will make his way to Belek on the same day. The Schalke chairman will stay in Turkey until Thursday.
Christian Pander will not attend the training camp, however. The left-sided defender will continue his rehabilitation programme in Gelsenkirchen as planned after sustaining a medial collateral ligament injury. At the moment the 24-year-old is wearing a knee brace, which is due to be removed at the end of the week.
Pander's team mates have a busy training programme ahead of them over the next few days. There will be four sessions each day: jogging (0800), breakfast (0900), work on the training ground (1030), lunch and midday rest (1300), work on the training ground (1630) and finally a customised session (from 1700).
This schedule will apply each day apart from the two matchdays. The Royal Blues take on SC Freiburg in the Victoria Cup on Tuesday (kick-off: 1835) before facing Werder Bremen on Saturday (kick-off: 1805). Both matches will be shown live on German sports channel DSF.
The Royal Blues look set to be without Ze Roberto in both games as the transfer formalities between the Brazilian FA and the German Football League (DFL) have yet to be completed. "It usually takes a few days", said general manager Andreas Müller, who expects the Brazilian to make his competitive debut in Magdeburg on 19 January.
The Royal Blues were met at the airport in Antalya by coach driver Lars Laser, who set off from Gelsenkirchen last Thursday. It took Laser 25 hours of net travel time to pilot the bus and the team's training equipment to Belek. The Schalke delegation are staying at the Kempinski hotel 'The Dome'.
