Chestnut macaws in the focus of Düsseldorf and Hanover

Wanted: Thomas Kastanaras.

IMAGO/sport photo pack

Fabian Wohlgemuth and Sebastian Hoeneß are hoping for the skills of the medical department to get their top scorer fit again in time for next Wednesday. Guirassy suffered a cut and a swelling over the eye in the 2-1 win against Borussia Mönchengladbach after Lars Stindl swiped his palm across the face of the VfB striker. “His vision was impaired,” says coach Hoeneß, who had to replace the 27-year-old and is hoping for a timely recovery. “He’s our most effective offensive player,” explains sporting director Wohlgemuth, who points to the bitter experiences under ex-coach Bruno Labbadia, who had to do without the top scorer of the traditional club for eight weeks due to an adductor injury. Accordingly, the VfB offensive ran on emergency mode. “We noticed what it means when he’s absent for weeks,” said Wohlgemuth.

There is a real danger that Guirassy could be absent, at least against Frankfurt. Konstantinos Mavropanos had to miss almost two weeks in the first half of the season due to a head injury and a swollen eye. The swelling persisted. In this case, Hoeneß would have to deal with replacement options that the VfB head coach doesn’t actually have. Luca Pfeiffer, who would fit the profile best physically, has not used his chances so far. Silas doesn’t want to play in the center and prefers to play on the wing. That leaves Chris Führich, who is better off on the outside, Tiago Tomas, who needs a run-up and can only occupy the penalty area to a limited extent, and Juan Perea, who tried to close this gap to the best of his knowledge and ability, at least to some extent in times without Guirassy. More or less successfully.

That leaves Kastanaras, a talented striker who has scored three times in a row for VfB-U-21 in the regional league. But the 20-year-old has fallen behind a bit with the pros at the moment. Nevertheless, the German-Greek is in demand. From the 2nd division, Fortuna Düsseldorf and Hannover 96, among others, are dealing with the attacker, who had hoped for a little more in his first year with the VfB professionals.