Medial ligament injury – Germany and BVB fear for Nico Schlotterbeck | OneFootball

Because Ecuador surprisingly failed to get beyond a 0-0 draw against Curaçao during the night, the German national team, after its late 2-1 win over Ivory Coast, has not only already reached the 2026 World Cup round of 32, but has also already secured top spot in the group. However, the joy was tempered by concerns over Nico Schlotterbeck.

As early as the 13th minute, Schlotterbeck briefly rolled his left ankle in a challenge with Amad Diallo and had to receive lengthy treatment early on, accompanied by chants of “Nico Schlotterbeck” from the German fans. Schlotterbeck did return to the pitch, though, and delivered a decent performance until the halftime whistle. During the drinks break, Germany head coach Julian Nagelsmann had also spoken with his defender, who was clearly no longer moving completely freely but battled through until halftime.

At the break, Schlotterbeck then remained in the dressing room, and Antonio Rüdiger, who had warmed up early, took over in central defense alongside Jonathan Tah and played his part in the win.

MRI provides clarity

After the match, questions about Schlotterbeck came quickly, and Nagelsmann first offered some insight into the thinking during the game and explained why the substitution had not come earlier. “In the end, it is always to a large extent also a game-time decision whether he can still perform. And he did it very well until halftime,” kicker quotes the Germany coach as saying, who will almost certainly have to do without Schlotterbeck for the final group match on Thursday, and possibly even for the rest of the tournament.

Photo: IMAGO

“It doesn’t look good — unfortunately,” Nagelsmann suggested, expecting bad news after the MRI on Sunday, but he did not want to get ahead of himself: “We have to wait and see what the imaging shows. Unfortunately, it is most likely a medial ligament injury in the ankle, but we do not yet know how severe it is.”

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.