Having missed much of the opening half of the Bundesliga season, Bayer Leverkusen forward Patrick Helmes is not yet thinking ahead to the World Cup.
The 25-year-old striker had made the breakthrough into Joachim Loew’s Germany team last season after enjoying a prolific term with Bayer Leverkusen, during which he scored at a rate of well over a goal every other game. But serious injury struck the Cologne-born forward this summer, preventing him from continuing his goal-getting exploits in the latter half of 2009.
Now back fit, he is simply focused on earning domestic success with die Werkself, as he explained to the Bundesliga’s official website.
Quizzed as to his international ambitions for the summer, he replied, “No. I have to be realistic about that. The World Cup is not my primary goal.
“First off I've got to get a foot in the door at club level. I've been back with the team for eight or nine weeks now. After all the reconditioning work I'm in pretty good condition again. I did a lot of training over the Christmas holidays as well. Now I need match practice, then I'll soon be back in the frame.”
Even his ambitions for the club are relatively modest, despite their lofty placing in the Bundesliga. “We want a place in Europe. Anything beyond that is a bonus. If we keep playing the way we have so far, we'll be in the mix at the top for a long time yet,” he concluded.
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