Philipp Lienhart, who has been sorely missed since December 2023, is no longer an option for the SC Freiburg season finale. But does the regular central defender have enough time to take part in the European Championship with Austria? This also involves a difficult balancing process.
Freiburg central defender Philipp Lienhart has been out since mid-March. picture alliance / press photo pack
On good days, Lienhart and Matthias Ginter are one of the best central defender duos in the Bundesliga. The fact that both of the SC’s regular players have been missing for some time is also a reason why the SC currently has 15 points less than after 32 games in the outstanding previous season, which the club finished in fifth place.
Last starting eleven appearance on matchday 14
Lienhart was in Christian Streich’s starting line-up for the last time in the 1-0 win in Wolfsburg on matchday 14. He was then slowed down by groin problems, which required an operation in January after initially unsuccessful attempts at conservative treatment. After that, it was only enough for Lienhart to make a half-hour comeback on matchday 26 in a 2-3 win against Leverkusen on March 17th.
The 27-year-old then traveled full of enthusiasm to the Austrian national team, where he developed into a clear regular under coach Ralf Rangnick in 2023. However, Lienhart had to leave again after a few days – due to knee problems.
Which would be the worst case
The defender has been missing since the end of March due to this injury and will not return to the pitch in the remaining two league games. “Unfortunately, Philip is not an option for our season finale,” explained sports director Klemens Hartenbach in an interview with kicker on Thursday.
The player is currently working as hard as possible to at least fulfill a big dream with the ÖFB team: taking part in the European Championships in Germany. At the 2021 European Championships, Lienhart came on as a substitute and made two substitutions.
According to Hartenbach, Lienhart’s advanced training also involves a difficult weighing process: “How fit will he be for the European Championships in the short term, but what damage could this cause in the medium to long term, for him and us as a club? Let’s assume he is three quarters fit and “We would fight our way through the European Championships, but then be out for a longer period of time next season – that would be the worst case for us.”
It’s “not an easy situation, especially for Philipp,” says Hartenbach and is also aware of the other personnel problems of the “stricken” ÖFB team. Freiburg’s sports director emphasizes: “He and we are doing everything we can to ensure that he is ready for the European Championships and is sustainably fit. But if the risk is too great, it wouldn’t make sense. Now we have to see from week to week how he does tolerates the load.”
2024-05-09 13:52:06
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