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ESPN staff 7y

Jonathan Tah returns to Bayer Leverkusen training after seven weeks

Jonathan Tah returned to training with Bayer Leverkusen on Tuesday, seven weeks after tearing a thigh muscle in a defeat at Hamburg.

The 21-year-old defender acknowledged it was difficult for him to remain patient with his recovery while the muscle healed.

"It was good not to rush things and train come hell or high water," Tah told reporters.

He returns to a team that now have a new coach after Tayfun Korkut replaced the fired Roger Schmidt earlier this month and has fallen to 11th in the Bundesliga table. They are five points from UEFA Europa League qualification after winning just two of their last six games.

Tah said that he has been impressed by Korkut so far and likes the changes he has made -- especially because he believes the defence is no longer vulnerable.

"That's one of the things we're working on, because we were pretty open at the back and forced into the one-on-one duels," Tah said. "I think that it's better now."

Leverkusen will resume after the international break by hosting Wolfsburg, then will play bottom-of-the-table Darmstadt away before travelling to RB Leipzig, who are 13 points behind Bayern Munich in second.

Tah said the first half of the game against Hoffenheim on Saturday, a 1-0 loss, was something that he believes Leverkusen can build on.

"It's all really close," Tah said. "It's best we only focus on us, and don't let anyone from the outside influence us. We should believe in our strengths."

ESPN FC's Germany correspondent Stephan Uersfeld contributed to this report.

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