Austria’s national team will have to do without Philipp Lienhart in the first two test matches of the 2024 European Championship. The SC Freiburg central defender is out of the guest game on Saturday (6 p.m.) in Slovakia and the home game on Tuesday (8:45 p.m., both live on ORF1) in Vienna against Turkey due to problems with his left knee. ÖFB team boss Ralf Rangnick confirmed this on Friday before the last session in the training camp in Marbella.
IMAGO/Sportfoto Rudel/Press photo Rudel/Herbert Rudel
Lienhart was on the ÖFB team in the fall. The 27-year-old had to undergo groin surgery in January and only made his comeback last week. He has stopped training in Marbella since Wednesday. “That’s the only downer. He has problems with his knee, which is why he cannot play both games,” explained Rangnick. Freiburg would take over the treatment from Sunday.
With captain David Alaba injured on his cruciate ligament and Lienhart, both central defenders who started in the most recent international match against Germany (2-0) in November are now unavailable at the start of the European Championship year. Rangnick also remembered Gernot Trauner, who was missing due to thigh problems. “There are already three players who are out here.” Maximilian Wöber is expected to start against the Slovaks alongside Kevin Danso in the defense center.
