"Like a kid at a theme park" – Benny Henrichs is back | OneFootball

Relief and happiness were written all over Benjamin Henrichs’ face this week as he ran through a guard of honour formed by his teammates and took part in team training for the first time since his long injury lay-off.

It is almost exactly a year since he suffered his serious injury. On 20th December 2024, Henrichs ruptured his Achilles tendon in the final minute of the final game before the winter break, RBL's 5-1 defeat in Munich.

We were just delighted that Benny's back with the boys in training. He's not just crucial for us on the pitch, but in other ways off of it as well."

Even excited for running drills

For a long time, Henrichs deliberately kept his distance from the squad. “For the first seven or eight months, I was only training downstairs indoors,” he recently explained on a podcast. “It was just hard to accept that the lads were going out to train and talking about it – while I was so far away from being able to do that.”

But with every step forward in his rehab, the anticipation grew. “Suddenly I was doing running drills again – and you actually look forward to them, because you’re able to do it again,” said our number 39.

Returning to team training was on another level entirely. “It was a really special feeling, knowing I was putting my boots on, going out onto the pitch and training with the team again,” Henrichs admitted. “I was so excited – like a little kid going to a theme park and getting to ride the rollercoasters.”

Back with the team at last

The coaching team had to rein him in a little during that first session. “I wanted to do more,” he smiled. Now, though, the focus is on steadily increasing his workload so that he can soon become a genuine option again for competitive matches.

Even so, the first session already felt intense and was very different from individual rehab work. “I was the neutral man in a possession drill. It's a completely different feeling when you’re suddenly involved in duels and being pressed from all sides.”

Despite the greater intensity, one emotion stood above all others: joy. “I was just happy to be playing football again,” he said.

You could see it on his face and on the faces of his teammates too.

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