Again, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar could not help his Schalke. The 37-year-old Sturm oldie was also missing in the 0-3 home defeat against RB Leipzig – Because of a “calf injury that broke open again”, as coach Christian Gross said after the game.
“I would have loved to have him on the bench,” said the 66-year-old S04 coach. “He tried everything and is 100 percent committed to Schalke. We hope that he can help us with our mission as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, the injury broke out at short notice, which is a shame.”
The “Hunter”, who had come from Ajax Amsterdam with great expectations, was now missing in four out of five games. Only in the 1-1 draw against Bremen was it enough for a ten-minute short stint.
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Why isn’t Schalke Huntelaar fit?
After SPORT1-Information there is internal criticism of Werner Leuthard. The 59-year-old was brought in as “Head of Performance Licensed Player” before the season started. Due to repeated injuries in the past season, the sporting leadership around Jochen Schneider changed the staff and hired Leuthard, among others – so far with manageable success!
Gross: “Unfortunately the injury broke out again”
Leuthard, who is considered a tough dog and worked under Felix Magath at Schalke between 2009 and 2011, is said to have trained incorrectly, according to the internal allegation.
As SPORT1 learned, players are said to have started training too early after injuries. Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, for example, is said to have not been particularly happy about his brief assignment in Bremen last week. The Dutchman actually didn’t feel fit enough yet.
So did the new head of athletics and fitness steer the training wrong? Gross said this SPORT1Demand: “He (Huntelaar) wanted to do everything he could to be as fit as possible. Unfortunately, the injury broke out again. The external conditions are not ideal at the moment, even if we have a new lawn. Our training grounds are not yet so well prepared . “
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Communication with the medical department, however, is okay. “I wouldn’t blame anyone for that,” says Gross. “We tried to get him down as soon as possible. We couldn’t.”
Schalke hospital bulging
The number of injured or stricken players at Schalke is high even after the personnel changes in the rehabilitation and fitness area.
Goncalo Paciencia (knee injury), Salif Sané (knee problems), Kilian Ludewig (metatarsal fracture) and Steven Skrzybski (torn knee ligament) have been out for several weeks, Frederik Rönnow still has groin problems, Can Bozdogan has an ankle injury and Timo Becker was absent from Leipzig because of Thigh problems.
The important top performers Omar Mascarell and Suat Serdar had to miss three and five league games respectively this season due to muscular problems.
A failure now threatens Mark Uth, who had to be replaced against Leipzig before half-time. “I think it’s a muscular injury in my back thigh,” says Gross. “I don’t know any more details yet.”
