FC St. Pauli

Ohlsson admitted to being "very excited" going into the friendly against Viborg and looking forward to returning to action after more than seven months on the sidelines. The "good feeling" he had before kick-off was reflected in his showing on the pitch. At no stage did the long injury layoff make it itself felt. The Swede slotted in straightaway and put in a good performance. "It felt really good to be back on the pitch and get 45 minutes in," he said after a high-octane first period that left its mark on him: "The game went back and forth, and we had to do a lot of running. The longer the first half went on, the more tired the legs became, but that's normal when you haven't played for so long. There's still room for improvement, of course, but overall I was happy with my performance." Timo Schultz was also pleased with the right-back's return to action. "As usual, he was very strong in the challenge on his side and combined well with Luca Zander on occasions."

Sebastian Ohlsson was in a constant battle with Viborg's Ibrahim Said on his return to action.

The Swede watched the second half from the sidelines, a role he had been confined to for around seven months after his last appearance against VfL Osnabrück on 21 March, missing no fewer than 21 competitive games in the interim. "I hadn't been out for that long before, maybe two months but that's all," said Ohlsson, who had been almost an ever-present fixture in the side since his move to Millerntor in August 2019. "It was a new experience for me, and it wasn't always easy. You want to be out there when the team are winning games and experience the successes. It can be tough when you're missing one training session after another, one game after another, but I was obviously delighted that things were going so well for us as a team."

Sebastian Ohlsson under challenge from Osnabrück's Sebastian Kerk on last Bundesliga 2 appearance on 21 March 2021.

"I've only missed a few games since I've been here. The injuries were not a consequence of me playing so often, I think it was just a lot of bad luck," added Ohlsson, who had been plagued by a groin strain since the game at Osnabrück, then had trouble with the MCL in his knee towards the end of last season and, most recently, suffered muscular problems. Having made a full recovery, however, he is raring to go. The league campaign resumes at Darmstadt next week with Ohlsson aiming for another place in the squad after being called up by Schultz at Bremen last time out. Were he to return to the side for the first time in almost eight months, he would have two reasons to celebrate, as it would also be his 50th competitive appearance for the club. "A landmark with a long lead time," said Ohlsson, for whom the landmark means something else entirely. "Obviously, I hope the rest of the season will be just as successful as the start." From now on, Ohlsson will be able to play his part in maintaining the progress on the pitch.

Photos: Witters