Bad weather in Frankfurt.

It's raining constantly, and actually it would be the right opportunity to take a warm bath even in the morning.

But Makoto Hasebe does not deviate from his ritual.

We bathe in the evening – after another fulfilling day at Eintracht.

Ralph Weitbrecht

sports editor.

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Wednesday was one of those days again - and Hasebe, the old warhorse, was right in the middle.

The fact that he was injured at the beginning of the month in the 3-2 away win in Stuttgart after an unfortunate dogfight with his own goalkeeper Kevin Trapp was painful in two ways.

The Japanese was later diagnosed with a pneumothorax – and Eintracht had expressed the fear of having to do without their prudent defense strategist for weeks.

But now it could go faster than planned.

Hasebe is back.

On the day when the weather around the Eintracht training ground showed its inhospitable side, the 38-year-old lent a hand.

He was as present as ever in all exercises and forms of play.

And when it was time to clear the small training goals before the final game, Hasebe was the first to grab the aluminum rectangle.

Once a role model, always a role model.

Nevertheless, trainer Oliver Glasner preferred not to put Hasebe in the front line with management tasks for the sake of practice.

In the supposed starting eleven, marked with yellow jerseys, the Japanese was not there on Wednesday.

As in the 0:2 against Wolfsburg, Martin Hinteregger again formed the three-man defense block with Evan Ndicka and Tuta.

In a few days, on Saturday under floodlights in the Cologne Arena, this could also be the case from 6.30 p.m. (in the FAZ live ticker for the Bundesliga and on Sky).

Or does Glasner pull himself together and nominate convalescent Hasebe for the starting lineup?

There are arguments for and against.

His weak performance against VfL speaks for a renewed nomination of Hinteregger.

The Austrian caught a black working day with a lot of shade.

The upcoming game at 1. FC Köln could be an immediate opportunity to make amends for him.

If Hinteregger is the first choice, he could also face Anthony Modeste.

When FC lost 1: 3 at RB Leipzig last week, the beefy striker was not there due to the corona.

In the meantime, however, the Frenchman has left the quarantine again.

For Eintracht it is important to narrow its circles.

It was a tailor-made assignment for the uncompromising Hinteregger, who rarely worked with a fine blade.

The Cologne football coach Steffen Baumgart said on Wednesday that Modeste would play for a while and only want to make a decision at short notice.

His Frankfurt coach colleague Glasner should do the same when deciding whether to rehabilitate Hinteregger or return to Hasebe.