Marko Grujic was among the Liverpool loanees in action this week, despite most leagues taking a break for international qualifiers and friendlies.
The Serbian has been sidelined since September after suffering ankle ligament damage, but was back in training at the start of November.
Though he is yet to make his comeback for the Hertha Berlin first team, he took part in a friendly against 2. Bundesliga side Aue on Thursday.
Grujic started alongside the likes of Karim Rekik, Per Ciljan Skjelbred, Salomon Kalou and Davie Selke in a 1-1 draw that saw Pascal Kopke cancel out Florian Kruger’s opener.
The Liverpool midfielder played an hour, before being replaced by Sidney Friede, with manager Pal Dardai telling herthabsc.de that he saw Grujic visibly “lack playing practice.”
“The test was important for our rhythm and a good load, we had a lot of chances, but unfortunately we did not use them consistently enough,” Dardai said.
“We saw Marko Grujic lack playing practice but we will build him up step by step.”
Hertha are next in action at home to Hoffenheim in the Bundesliga next weekend, and Grujic could feature as a substitute as his recovery continues.
Elsewhere, Herbie Kane played the full 90 minutes as Doncaster Rovers sealed a late 2-1 victory over Wimbledon in League One on Saturday.
This was Kane’s 20th appearance for his loan club, and as his role under Grant McCann grows increasingly key he was again subjected to a rough approach from the visitors.
After escaping a shocking challenge from Matt Challoner to score twice in Rovers’ 2-2 draw at Chorley the previous weekend, he took to Twitter after their latest win to joke about his treatment:
Great 3 points!? anyone got any spare legs???
— Herbie kane (@herbiekane) November 17, 2018
While it is difficult to see this as a positive, this is a testament to Kane’s reputation, as his excellent spell with Doncaster rolls on.
Corey Whelan also started and played the full 90 minutes at right-back as Crewe Alexandra beat Tranmere Rovers 3-2 in League Two, with Shamal George an unused substitute for the visitors.
Finally, ex-Liverpool youngster Sam Hart was withdrawn after 79 minutes as Rochdale lost 3-2 to Shrewsbury, with Connor Randall still absent as he works his way back from a fractured cheekbone.
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