'Muscle tear' - Leeds United loanee opens up on injury nightmare with two-month absence confirmed
Leeds United's Max Wober has endured a miserable loan spell at Werder Bremen.
Out-on-loan Leeds United defender Max Wober has revealed how an apparent minor injury has developed into something more serious as his disappointing Werder Bremen loan continues.
Wober joined Bremen on loan for the season in July, having played a fringe role in Leeds’ 2024/25 Championship title-winning campaign. The Austrian had previously left for Borussia Monchengladbach following relegation in 2023 and had fallen down the pecking order after Jaka Bijol and Sebastiaan Bornauw were signed last summer.
But fitness issues have plagued the defender’s second spell in Germany, with a DFB-Pokal - Germany’s FA Cup equivalent - appearance in August his only game all season. A hamstring injury kept the 28-year-old out for four months and upon returning in a friendly against St. Pauli earlier this year, he suffered a fresh setback.
“After the friendly match, I started having problems with my calf,” he told the 1x1Sport Fußballtrainer podcast (via Deich Stube). “At first, they said it was a minor strain, but it took longer than expected.
“Then it turned into a muscle fibre tear, and finally a muscle fibre tear with tendon involvement. Many things didn’t go optimally during my rehab.”
According to Deich Stube who relay the podcast comments, Werder Bremen have already confirmed Wober was set to miss two months because of the calf issue, a portion of which he’s already sat out. The on-loan Leeds man was also in London to meet with a specialist.
“I’m not far from being fit, but I still can’t get back to running and playing football completely pain-free,” he added. “I hope this appointment will help me and that I can be back on the pitch in two weeks.
“Hopefully, after the international break, I’ll at least have five or six games where I can give my all for the club.”
Wober fitness woes a transfer blow for Leeds United
Upon confirming the loan signing of Wober in July, Werder Bremen announced they had an option to sign the defender permanently. Reports since have suggested that option could be worth as little as €4million but given he’s played just one game this season, it feels unlikely they will trigger it.
Wober is therefore most likely to return to Leeds at the end of the season, by which point he will have one year remaining on his Elland Road deal. A place in Daniel Farke’s squad feels a long way off, particularly if it remains a Premier League squad, leaving club chiefs with a decision to make.
Having paid off most of his £11m transfer fee through amortisation over his four-and-a-half-year deal, Leeds would need to recoup around £2.5m in order to break even from an accounting perspective. Of course, this summer marks a change in the Premier League’s financial rules.
Should Leeds remain in the top-flight, they will no longer have to adhere to Profitability and Sustainability Rules. Instead, they will work under the new Squad Cost Rules, which effectively limit on-pitch spending to 80 per cent of total club revenue in any given year.