Alexander Prass could make his first appearance of the season for Hoffenheim on Thursday evening, when the club opens its UEFA Europa League campaign against OFI Kreta at 18:45. After weeks out with a muscle injury in the adductor area, the midfielder is now close enough to return that his name is being talked about for actual minutes rather than just recovery work.
That matters now because Hoffenheim needs answers before kick-off, and Prass is one of the few players whose availability can still change the look of the match. Christian Ilzer said the team travelled with full availability, using the phrase “volle Kapelle,” but he also made clear last weekend that Prass was still “ganz knapp” from a comeback and needed “ein paar Prozent” more. In other words, the door is open, but not wide enough to say he will start.
Prass has not played at all this season, which gives his return a different weight from a routine squad update. He missed time after the August adductor injury, and Hoffenheim has had to wait while he rebuilt himself toward match fitness. Ralf Rangnick’s decision to nominate him for the upcoming Nations-League games only adds to the sense that the player is back in view, even if the club is still deciding how much it can ask of him on Thursday.
The friction is simple: being available is not the same as being ready for a full role. Prass was already very close last weekend, but closeness is not the same as clearance for 90 minutes, or even for a place in the starting line-up. For Hoffenheim, the practical question is whether he is used as a late option or held back for a fuller return after Thursday’s Europa League opener. The answer will come only when the teams line up and the match begins to show whether that comeback is immediate or still one step away.
