The Bundesliga season resumes this weekend with Werder Bremen one of many teams aiming for three points in their first matches back.
For Bremen and U.S. Men’s National Team striker Josh Sargent, the goal is to have an injury free second-half of the season, and continue scoring goals in his second league campaign with the club.
“I want to score more goals, 100 percent. It’s in my head,” Sargent said in an interview with German outlet Weser-Kurier. “Werder is a strong club, we have a strong team. We will stick together, fight together and make it [to safety].”
Sargent has been out of action since Dec. 5th, recovering from a hamstring injury he suffered back in October with the USMNT. The young striker continued to play for Bremen following that break, but was kept out of the team’s final matches prior to the winter break.
The 19-year-old Sargent played for Bremen over their winter camp, scoring a pair of goals in a friendly win over German second-tier side Hannover. With two goals and two assists in 11 appearances this Bundesliga campaign, Sargent will be eager to feature in the club’s match against Fortuna Dusseldorf on Saturday.
“I feel very good and ready for the second half of the season,” Sargent said. “I no longer feel the injury. I was out three weeks, completed my rehab program and walked a lot. The training camp on Mallorca was very good for me after that.”
Sargent may still be young, but he’s continuing to grow into a talented player for Florian Kohfeldt’s side. Working with several talents like Milot Rashica, Claudio Pizarro, and Johannes Eggestein, Sargent is gaining more confidence at his position on the pitch and hoping to continue growing more comfortable with every appearance.
“You always have to work with the player in the No. 10 position,” Sargent said. “This is my job and I feel comfortable with it. It is only the first time that I am called “Bodyguard”. The word is new, but the task is not. The goal is to take some pressure off Milot.”
The pressure is on Sargent and the rest of the Bremen squad as they currently sit second-from-bottom in the German top-flight. A win over fellow strugglers Dusseldorf would be a huge start to the busy second-half of the season.
Following that, the club hosts Hoffenheim before traveling to Augsburg to kick off February.