Christoph Baumgartner is back in the Austrian national team squad after recovering from a severe thigh tendon injury that sidelined him for five months, sport.ORF.at reported on Tuesday.
The 27-year-old sustained the injury on June 1 during the warmup for a World Cup warm-up match against Tunisia at the Happel-Stadion, forcing him to undergo surgery and watch Austria’s tournament campaign from the bench. Baumgartner has earned 58 caps for the ÖFB team, scoring 19 goals and providing 14 assists.
Without him and other star players, the Austrians remained undefeated in the opening matches of the Nations League against Israel, Kosovo, and Ireland, laying the groundwork for a potential group victory.
Baumgartner made his competitive return for RB Leipzig in late October, appearing as a substitute in a Champions League match against Real Madrid and providing an assist in a 4-1 defeat, according to sport.ORF.at.
Since that comeback, the Niederösterreich native has scored four goals and provided one assist across six appearances for the German club, as noted by the Salzburger Nachrichten. His goals included a double in the DFB-Pokal against Rot-Weiss Essen and two league goals.
In that match, trainer Martin Demichelis deployed the Austrian star in a 4-3-3 formation on the eight or ten position.
Speaking at the ÖFB team camp in Vienna on Tuesday, Baumgartner stated that he feels physically fit despite not yet being ready to play 90-minute matches, sport.ORF.at reported. Mir fehlen nur die Spielminuten. Aber mir geht es super
, Baumgartner told reporters.
Wenn es nach mir geht, kann es gerne die Startformation sein, ich bin bereit dafür, aber das entscheidet natürlich der Trainer
, Baumgartner told reporters, as quoted by sport.ORF.at.
Reflecting on the long rehabilitation phase, Baumgartner noted that team doctors and members of the support staff in Leipzig had to hold him back when he felt he could already play, which he admitted was very important.
Ich habe eine super Energie in der Truppe gesehen
, Baumgartner added regarding the national team.
Austria sits on eight points in its UEFA Nations League group and can secure group victory with a victory against Ireland in Linz on Saturday, according to the Salzburger Nachrichten. Baumgartner is a candidate for the starting formation, though the 27-year-old will likely not play through the entire match.
The national team closes out its November fixture block with an away match against Israel three days later, as reported by Exxpress. Teamchef Ralf Rangnick must do without players such as David Alaba for these fixtures.
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