Bochum goalkeeper Timo Horn to make Bundesliga return after three-year-hiatus | OneFootball

After an absence of nearly three full years, former Köln mainstay Timo Horn will make his Bundesliga return on Saturday. Horn’s current Bundesliga club VfL Bochum – already dealing with a slew of absences ahead of the coming “kleines Revierderby” clash with Borussia Dortmund – have now confirmed that regular keeper Patrick Drewes is sick.

VfL head coach Dieter Hecking confirmed that 31-year-old Horn would be the man to stand in goal with his last Bundesliga appearance coming against Eintracht Frankfurt on matchday 22 of the 2021/22 campaign. The Köln-native kept a clean sheet that day on what was his 201st top-flight appearance. Horn made a total of 299 appearances for the cathedral city Geißböcke.

Former Köln trainer Steffen Baumgart installed Marvin Schwäbe as Horn’s permanent replacement that season. The heavily-capped German youth international (39 caps at Germany U21 level and below) never re-established himself at the only professional club he ever represented after that. After 21 years with the Effzeh, his was released in July 2023.

A season spent at RB Salzburg (2023/24) yielded only three appearances. Bochum – in need of additional keepers due to the messy end to the long-term relationship with Manuel Riemann – snatched Horn up on a free this summer to back up Drewes. Despite plenty of criticism of Drewes’ ability in his first top-flight assignment, neither Hecking nor previous head coach Peter Zeidler have turned to Horn yet.

“He [Horn] is experienced enough to handle the situation,” Hecking remarked on Friday. “It’s an awesome feeling when you wait a long time for your chance and then get to play in the derby.”

GGFN | Peter Weis