Werder Bremen have breathed a sigh of relief after tests found no significant injury to Eljero Elia following a clash in training this morning.
There was considerable concern after the Holland international crumpled to the ground following a challenge with defender Assani Lukimaya.
But Werder said this afternoon that the player has only a minor problem and should be available for this weekend's northern derby with Hamburg.
"It's not so bad," coach Thomas Schaaf told the club's website. "He has a slight bruising. He has not trained this afternoon but that was only a precaution."
Elia was a casualty of what on loan striker Nils Petersen described as a "spirited" training session, with Werder still smarting from their 5-0 defeat to Borussia Dortmund at the weekend and needing to arrest a poor run of form which has seen them concede 10 goals in their last three Bundesliga matches.
"It was spirited, there was fire in it," Petersen said. "It is very important in view of the game on Sunday. Peace and joy is not always appropriate even in training but that adds excitement to it."
