There’s been a most surprising development on the VfL Wolfsburg front. Just one week after a seemingly serious injury looked to sideline streaking striker Dzenan Pejcinovic for a sustained spell, the 20-year-old is back in full training. Wolfsburg head coach Daniel Bauer noted today that Pejcinovic may even be fit enough to start against Mainz in the Bundesliga on Sunday. 

Pejcinovic appeared slated for surgery

The local Wolfsburger Allgemeine Zeitung reported last week that Pejcinovic’s foot injury might lead to him going under the knife. Bauer effectively proved this report false whilst speaking at his Thursday pre-match press conference. Germany’s green company team can once again rely on their goal scoring machine. Prior to his injury, Pejcinovic restored five tallies in three consecutive league fixtures.

The Pejcinovic news wasn’t the only positives that Bauer conveyed at the Thursday presser. The VfL head coach noted that injured Danes Adam Daghim and Jesper Lindstrøm were also in good shape. A loose and confident Bauer also shared a laugh with journalists when speaking on the return of former Wolfsburg hero Edin Dzeko to Germany and joked about his club’s “additional transfer plans” potentially “leading to the collapse of the whole system“.

While not specifically guaranteeing Pejcinovic a start this weekend, Bauer did rule out a plans to deploy newly acquired Japanese striker Kento Shiogai immediately. The 20-year-old, per Bauer, is still working on “linguistic barriers” so soon after arriving in his new country.

Bauer’s statements on Pejcinovic and Shiogai

“Dzenan is back in training,” Bauer said. “He trained yesterday and today. Things are looking very good and I’m very optimistic that he will travel with us to Mainz. I’d be a bad coach if I didn’t consider Dzenan for a return to the starting XI. He was on a great run and was only out for one game. He’s already brimming with confidence again in training.”

“He performed very well in his first two training sessions,” Bauer said of Shiogai. “We have to work on the language barrier. He understands English, but he’s still unsure when it comes to speaking. He’s a natural No. 9, but can also be used in other attacking positions because he possesses some of the skills we need on the wins. He can also play as a deep lying striker or short-striker once we get to know each other better.“