Mitchell-Elijah Weiser came back for Werder Bremen after 483 days out, and the emotion showed straight away. He made his return in Matchday 3's 1-1 draw against former club 1. FC Köln at the RheinEnergieStadion, replacing Youri Regeer in the 83rd minute and playing ten minutes. By full time, he was in tears as he went over to the travelling Bremen support.
Weiser's own read on the comeback
"After being out for so long, all the emotions just came out," Weiser said to bundesliga.com. He added: "I’ve played football all my life and this was the longest I’ve ever gone without it."
The return was only a brief one. Weiser has made just one Bundesliga appearance this season and logged seven minutes, which is about where the rebuild sits right now. He had been out for almost 14 months before this cameo, after suffering a cruciate ligament tear ahead of the 2025/26 campaign.
Bremen's careful rebuild plan
Weiser was clear that the comeback was a step, not the finish line. "It was a big step, but there’s still more work to do. I still need to build up my stamina, and the only way to do that is by getting minutes on the pitch. I’m absolutely convinced I’ll come back a better player than I was before," he said.
That is the right approach from Werder Bremen. The club do not need to force him back into full loads after a layoff that long, especially with Niclas Füllkrug also admitting the moment hit the squad hard, saying: "I started crying too."
Bremen host unbeaten Augsburg on 19 September before a trip to Borussia Dortmund after the international break, so the next steps for Weiser will come quickly enough. For now, the story is less about a full return than the next handful of minutes he can collect.
Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 1 outlet. How we work →
