Augsburg messes up the dress rehearsal before the start of the competitive game. But the defeat against Stade Rennes is pushed into the background by a serious injury. FCA striker Niederlechner has a wish.
Augsburg (dpa / lby) - A serious injury shocked FC Augsburg and slowed down leading player Niklas Dorsch. The U21 European Champion broke his metatarsus in Saturday's friendly against French first division side FC Stade Rennes (2:3). The first round of the DFB Cup against regional league club TuS Blau-Weiss Lohne and the start of the Bundesliga against SC Freiburg will take place without the hot-tempered midfielder.
After his broken collarbone, which Dorsch suffered in the last game of the season, the shock diagnosis is the next setback for the ambitious soccer hope from Upper Franconia. Coach Enrico Maaßen expects "four to six weeks" of downtime. And even then Dorsch could only get back into training. In addition to Arne Maier, the coach has identified Fredrik Jensen, Mads Pedersen and Felix Götze as possible replacements in the sixth position.
Dorsch had planned so much. "I know that there is no door closed," said the 24-year-old recently about his dream of the national soccer team and announced for the new season: "I want to be more dangerous".
For the coach, the injury to his midfield director is another "downer" in Augsburg's pre-season. "The players are dwindling," Maaßen stated after the showdown against the Europa League participants from France. Dorsch is next in line for injuries with Reece Oxford (knee) and Ruben Vargas (hamstring injury). Both are in advanced training and only played the spectator role in the tests.
And the staff shortages are by far not the only construction sites that FCA have to deal with shortly before the new season. "We have to defend more consistently and play football more clearly. We have to take advantage of our many chances," Maassen demanded after the poor dress rehearsal and "a bunch of opportunities". The coordination problems in the defense also made the coach ponder.
Is FCA ready to win the Bundesliga opener against Freiburg on August 6th? "Of course it can be enough. We're hard to beat at home," argued midfielder Daniel Caligiuri (34). Everyone is fully involved. "We just have to use our chances more effectively," the veteran agreed with his coach.
New players could help Augsburg get through the twelfth Bundesliga season without trembling. So far, the Swabians have been extremely cautious on the player market and only brought in two external newcomers in Ermedin Demirovic (Freiburg) and Maximilian Bauer (Fürth). Arne Maier from Hertha BSC signed FCA after a loan. "One or two reinforcements wouldn't be bad," said striker Florian Niederlechner. "What you hear is still coming from one or the other." The transfer window is open until the end of August.
