Augsburg confirm loss of captain Jeffrey Gouweleeuw for several weeks | OneFootball

The shaky situation at FC Augsburg has just gotten shakier following some unfortunate injury news released by the Bundesliga outfit on Wednesday. Squad captain Jeffrey Gouweleeuw is set to miss several weeks with a torn medial ligament in his left knee. The nature of the injury will keep the 34-year-old sidelined until at least mid October. The loss will certainly hurt the Fuggerstädter.

Gouweleeuw saw his captaincy (once forfeited to current VfB Stuttgart striker Ermedin Demirovic) restored to him ahead of last season. The Dutchman became a mainstay in Jess Thorup’s squad over the course of the 2024/25 campaign, featuring in 33 of Augsburg’s 34 league fixtures and three of the team’s four Pokal matches. Gouweleeuw went the full 90 minutes on all but one occasion.

Like the Mainz counterpart who ultimately undid his team in the Bundesliga last weekend, Gouweleeuw counts as an absolute “iron man” amongst his peers. The veteran’s importance to the team was underscored by a lucrative contract extension signed this past February. Prior to last Saturday’s 67th-minute subbing off, Gouweleeuw had once again logged maximum minutes through four competitive fixtures.

The news need not be devastating as FCA head coach Sandro Wagner does have plenty of quality central defenders available to serve in his back-three. Assuming both Keven Schlotterbeck and Cedric Zesiger can remain fit ahead of the match, the duo can serve alongside Chrislain Matsima. Young American  international Noahkai Banks – who has featured surprisingly little this season – may also get a shot.

GGFN | Peter Weis