Ozan Kabak nearing Hoffenheim comeback after serious injury | OneFootball

After suffering a cruciate ligament tear prior to Turkey’s Euro 2024 campaign, Ozan Kabak is nearing a comeback. The Hoffenheim defender has returned to the club’s training centre and is working on his return in rehab.

Speaking to the club’s official TV channel, Kabak said: “Every day is getting better. It’s obviously a difficult time for me, the first three months were very difficult. It’s difficult for me to just sit on the couch and watch the games. I’m training and giving it my all.”

Ozan Kabak was a candidate for sale

Managing Director Alexander Rosen, who left the club in July, is very well respected in the recruitment world. As reported by Kicker, he followed the plan of generating a transfer surplus to make the club more sustainable, but this was also met with criticism from TSG deputy chairman Simone Engelhardt, who suggested that Rosen had more money at his disposal during his time at the club. Following Rosen’s resignation, TSG have invested €51m, per Transfermarkt, back into the squad, helped by the sale of Maximilian Beier to Borussia Dortmund for €28.5m.

But had Hoffenheim not sold Beier, Kabak would have been an option for sale. According to Kicker, the central-defender was considered a potential sales candidate who could have left for a fee in the low double-digit million sum. Kabak had several interested parties but following the player’s cruciate ligament injury, a sale was virtually impossible.

GGFN | Daniel Pinder