Henriksen likely to stick with Bell despite return of Jenz and Hanche-Olsen

FSV Mainz 05 trainer Bo Henriksen was pleased to welcome back several defensive options ahead of this weekend’s league fixture against Kiel, yet remains on record as a staunch supporter of one of his favored players. 

When Bo Henriksen’s Rheinhessen travel north to Schleswig Holstein for this weekend’s Bundesliga fixture against Kiel, the FSV trainer will once again be able to call upon several defensive options for his back-three. German defender Moritz Jenz returns from a brief injury layoff. Norwegian defensive linchpin Andreas Hanche-Olsen is also back after mending a broken toe. Forced to sit out the last league fixture, Maxim Leitsch is also available. 

“This is fantastic news for us,” Henriksen noted at a Friday pre-match presser, “[Though] Andreas isn’t at 100 percent after being out for five weeks. I don’t think he [Hanche-Olsen] can make the starting XI.” 

When Jenz and Olsen were both sidelined, Henriksen was proud to turn to veteran Stefan “boss” Bell to anchor his defensive corps. The 33-year-old has performed exceptionally well in two consecutive league starts, earning team-of-the-week honors from many publications after the round nine 0-0 draw with Freiburg and turning in a rock-solid 90 minutes in the round ten upset victory over Dortmund.

“It will be difficult to displace Bell,” Henriksen said at a press conference earlier this week, “He has done very well. It’s important that we preserve competition for places. Those to present themselves well should play.”