Under contract with the German brand Adidas, Florian Thauvin resumed training equipped with Wizwedge shoes, a Marseille brand. - F. Fife / AFP

  • Florian Thauvin has just resumed group training after five months of layoff. He had ankle surgery in early September.
  • The OM wing wears new training shoes, not his usual Adidas.
  • These crampons, from the Marseille brand Wizwedge, are supposed to limit the risk of injury.

Marseilles supporters noted Florian Thauvin's smile. His determined air and his joy when touching up a balloon, five months after a delicate ankle operation. But the photos posted by OM and by the player on social networks reveal another information, perhaps crucial: Florian Thauvin now wears crampons of the Wizwedge brand. Shoes developed by OM podiatrist Jean-Luc Guer, supposed to limit injuries and pain.

View this post on Instagram

Good news never comes alone. Back to the field 💙💪🏻 #TeamOM #BackToWork

A post shared by Florian Thauvin (@flotov) on Feb 19, 2020 at 3:48 am PST

"Florian has resumed racing with our Stargon model, intended for running and trail running," said a spokesperson for the company Wizwedge at 20 Minutes . He felt very well with it and therefore this week received crampons, of the Elite One model, which he wore first outside and then on natural lawn. "

Tailor-made shoes for "FloTov"

These shoes, equipped with a removable heel pad, can adapt to the needs of the player: he can choose more cushioning when he needs to recover and more energy restitution during the match. They were adapted to his foot: Florian Thauvin underwent a battery of “biomechanical” tests in a laboratory at Aix-Marseille University, in particular with experts from the Technical Center for Footwear (CTC), in order to “push personalization to the maximum. "

I think he's already moving very well 😉 pic.twitter.com/SoaDgXP4pO

- Florian Thauvin (@FlorianThauvin) January 31, 2020

The French international therefore had them on foot to resume training with the ball on Tuesday with the rest of the team. He had been away from the field for months: Florian Thauvin only played ten minutes in competition this season on September 1 (OM-ASSE, 1-0). He was operated on in stride and his long recovery was sometimes disappointing: André Villas-Boas spoke at a press conference "a delay of 20 days" in his recovery protocol, ensuring that OM "was more optimistic before the 'surgery. "

A simple infidelity to Adidas or a real change?

Florian Thauvin had been playing with orthopedic soles for a long time. In October 2018, Rudi Garcia was annoyed with the difficulties of the international winger with his shoes: “They hurt him, the concern is in the heel. Jean-Luc Guer had already intervened in an emergency and Adidas had attempted to clear the situation. A trip to Germany had been proposed to Thauvin, to study his foot. And vice president of sports marketing for the German brand Claus-Peter Mayer came out of the woods to say that "the Adidas X18s are worn on the field by world class players like Mo Salah, Gareth Bale and James Rodriguez. "

According to the Wizwedge brand, these shoes, with a removable heel pad, reduce the risk of injury for athletes. - Wizwedge

This Wednesday, representatives of Adidas remained unreachable. It is impossible to know whether Florian Thauvin permanently changes equipment supplier or simply makes an infidelity to Adidas while he heals his ankle completely. "We are waiting to clarify our relationship with Florian, we will see what will happen next and we will see if he wants to wear them in matches", they say at Wizwedge.

Thauvin could be the first top footballer officially equipped by the brand, already used by Romain Alessandrini or Caroline Pizzala, captain of the OM women's team. But there is still a long way to go before formalizing a partnership. "We are already very happy to be able to bring him well-being," concludes our source at Wizwedge. The important thing is that he feels good in his sneakers. Literally?

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  • League 1
  • Marseilles
  • OM
  • Florian Thauvin
  • Soccer
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  • Injured