Freiburg’s regular central defender Philipp Lienhart, who has been missing for weeks, is in danger of being out again after his recent comeback in the league. Meanwhile, ÖFB colleague Michael Gregoritscht gained self-confidence. It’s exciting to see what happens to the other national players and the professionals who were spared in the test.
Questionable for the game in Gladbach: Philipp Lienhart. DeFodi Images via Getty Images
Nine SC professionals went on an international trip at the beginning of the last few weeks. But one returned after just a few days – involuntarily. It was a strange mix of emotions for Philipp Lienhart. On the one hand, the central defender was happy about his comeback as a substitute in the 2-3 win against Leverkusen after being out since December and undergoing groin surgery. On the other hand, Christian Streich’s farewell announcement also had an impact on the Austrian, who has been playing for SC since 2017.
In the ÖFB camp he talked about his injury break, the European Championships, his prospects, his regret about Streich’s decision and also a little about his successor Julian Schuster, who was already considered the top candidate at the time of the conversation.
Knee problems slow Lienhart down
Three days later, Lienhart’s mood suddenly plummeted. According to ÖFB coach Ralf Rangnick, the Freiburg defender’s left knee swelled out of the blue. Trip home to Freiburg instead of two chances to play against Slovakia and Turkey in order to show off again as the ÖFB regular of the year 2023 and pick up the rhythm.
Lienhart wanted to find that again at SC as quickly as possible in order to end Streich’s farewell season as successfully as possible and prepare for the European Championships. As things stand, it is questionable as to when Lienhart will be able to get going again; his appearance on Saturday in Gladbach is at risk.
Gregoritsch and Röhl scored goals
ÖFB colleague Michael Gregoritsch, on the other hand, has every reason to be happy. The SC striker scored a hat-trick in the Austrians’ 6-1 win against Turkey on Tuesday. Merlin Röhl also scored on Tuesday – in the German U21s’ 2-0 win against Israel, in which Noah Atubolu was in goal.
This Wednesday, Kiliann Sildillia, who played twice for the French U21s, and Ritsu Doan were once again involved in the SC processes. Doan had only played once with Japan in the World Cup qualifiers against North Korea (1-0); the second leg in totalitarian North Korea planned for Tuesday had been canceled almost a week earlier due to “unavoidable circumstances”.
The Hungarian national players Roland Sallai and Attila Szalai celebrated two victories against Turkey and Kosovo with SC colleague Florent Muslija, who previously won 1-0 with his national team in Armenia.
The always tricky question for the club coach at the end of the international match phase: What physical condition are the national players in after their trips? At SC it is currently exciting to see how things are going with the professionals who were spared in the test against St. Gallen (4:1) last Thursday.
Streich spares some regular players in the test
In the person of Manuel Gulde, Matthias Ginter, Kenneth Schmidt, Nicolas Höfler, Noah Weißhaupt, Maximilian Philipp and Lucas Höler, seven players did not have to play in the test match, most of whom recently had a lot of playing time.
2024-03-27 21:12:23
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