BUNDESLIGA - Hoffenheim's Geiger speaks openly about playing football

Dennis Geiger from the Bundesliga soccer club TSG 1899 Hoffenheim was thinking of resigning after his third serious injury at the beginning of the year.

"The first three to four weeks were extremely bad. I was only at home, had a lot of thought about myself and asked whether it still makes sense to continue playing football," said the 23-year-old midfielder in an interview with Club magazine "Spielfeld".

Because of the thigh injury Geiger missed the entire second half of the season and the U21 European Championship, in which the DFB selection won the title. "A lot of people think it's easier to deal with when you know the situation, but for me it was even worse than the previous injuries," said Geiger. After that, he couldn't even watch football on TV: "It just didn't work. It triggered something negative in me."

Above all, his family and girlfriend helped him to "go through rehab even in bad moments," said the TSG home grown-up. In coordination with the club, he consciously chose other processes during this difficult time and avoided daily contact with the team. "I was also out of the region for five weeks, to Munich, so that I could clear my head," said Geiger, who has played four Bundesliga games so far this season.