How Benny Henrichs is revving up for the run-in | OneFootball

For those RB Leipzig players not called up for international duty, the break offers a welcome chance to get some rest and recuperation in. That's not how Benjamin Henrichs is looking at it, though. For our right-back, every day is an opportunity to work to get back to peak fitness following his lengthy injury lay-off.

Benny headed into the break on a high note: he scored the final goal in an emphatic 5-0 home win over TSG Hoffenheim. The strike was his first goal since making his comeback from injury.

Benny is back

In a recent interview with 'kicker', Benny described what that moment meant to him: “When you come back from a long period out, there are always certain milestones: first training session, first match, first start. After scoring, I felt like I was truly back. It was an incredible feeling, that emotional moment is hard to put into words.”

Our number 39 is right back in the middle of things - although he's not yet quite where he wants to be. He has now made five consecutive appearances coming off the bench. To strengthen his case to start over another talented Red Bull in Ridle Baku, he is putting in the extra yards and spending his days off in the gym in order to work on his remaining weaknesses.

Hoping for more playing time

Benny explained what he feels he's still missing: "After spending so long on the sidelines, it's always the case that there's room for improvement in the physical department, even when you're match-fit again." When it comes to "speed and agility", he still has some catching up to do after the long break.

As we stare down the barrel of the final seven Bundesliga fixtures of the current season, the 29-year-old is feeling that little bit better, and is ready to work hard to earn more minutes on the pitch. "I want to make it as tricky as possible for the coach to pick who starts," said Benny.

Lofty ambitions for the run-in

Benny still has two big goals for the remainder of the campaign - one with RB Leipzig, and one more personal dream. Firstly, it's the aim of helping the side qualify for European competition, hopefully the Champions League. "For me, this one year without European football has been enough," said Benny, making his ambition clear. He's working tirelessly to get the opportunity to once again compete on three footballing fronts.

When the Bundesliga pauses for the summer, he won’t want to be putting his feet up. His sights are set firmly on making Germany’s World Cup squad. “During my injury lay-off, I often caught myself thinking about what it would be like to be there at a World Cup. I’ll give absolutely everything to make it happen,” said Benny.

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