An Argentina rival loses a star for the 2026 World Cup | OneFootball

Christoph Baumgartner, an Austrian midfielder, suffered a muscle injury during the warm-up before the friendly against Tunisia and will be a major absence for the World Cup.

With just nine days to go before the start of the World Cup, Austria suffered a significant blow to its squad. The European side, which will face the Argentina national team in the second matchday of Group J, will be without one of its main stars for the biggest tournament on the calendar.

The player affected is Christoph Baumgartner, who suffered an injury to his right thigh during the warm-up before the friendly against Tunisia. The issue forced him out of the final squad and caused concern within Ralf Rangnick’s coaching staff, which is already looking for a replacement. Among the candidates are Marco Grull, of Werder Bremen, and Dejan Ljubicic, of Schalke.

At a press conference, the German coach lamented the absence of the R. B. Leipzig midfielder, a key piece in his system: “This is, without any doubt, very bitter news for us as a team. He is a very important player and a key personality within the squad.”

The Austrian federation confirmed the seriousness of the physical issue through an official statement: “Christoph Baumgartner will miss the World Cup with the national team. That has been confirmed after today’s MRI. The 26-year-old suffered an injury to the muscles in his right thigh. We wish you all the best, Baumi“.

The absence is especially painful because of the excellent form the midfielder was in. Last season he delivered outstanding performances in the Bundesliga and arrived at the World Cup as one of his national team’s main attacking threats.

Wearing the shirt of the energy drink-backed club, which also reacted after the news broke, Baumgartner posted impressive numbers: he scored 17 goals and provided nine assists in 37 matches, stats that had established him as one of the most decisive players in the squad.

With the Austria national team, where he holds the record for the fastest international goal in history (after six seconds against Slovakia), the midfielder had totaled 19 goals in 58 appearances. “The timing couldn’t be better for me”, he had said last week, excited about the World Cup. Unfortunately, his body let him down, and he will have to cheer from the sidelines.

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