Ibertsberger satisfied with progress

Things were going well for the Austrian at the badenova stadium on 1. November as Hoffenheim took a 1-0 lead into the final stages against SC Freiburg. That was until the 90th minute, when a long ball was hoisted into the 1899 penalty area. Ibertsberger headed the ball out of the danger zone, only to take the full force of Freiburg's Ivica Banovic in the face, leaving him with a broken cheekbone and a broken eye socket. The first half of the season was thus rendered all but over for the personable left-back. "I felt something, but my first reaction was to wonder whether I'd cleared the ball. Then I realised something wasn't quite right," explained Ibertsberger following the incident. It was not the first facial injury of his career either: "I've broken my cheekbone before, so I know what an injury like this means. I've been pleased with the recovery process so far, though."

The 27-year-old has since received plentiful emails wishing him a speedy recovery. "It's really nice to see that so many fans have got in touch and wished me well," said Ibertsberger, who was successfully operated on the very next day in Heidelberg by Professor Plinkert. Team doctor Dr. Pieter Beks added: "Andreas had some synthetic material inserted into his cheek to stabilise the fracture. We'll be monitoring his progress very closely." Ibertsberger, meanwhile, has managed to keep smiling throughout the ordeal, the only indication of the injury a hefty black eye. "These things always happen in football and I'm not blaming anyone. I'm just looking forwards and looking forward to being able to train with the lads again."