Four professionals threaten a long break: Cologne has to add personnel
That was probably what is called a dearly bought point. After the 0-0 draw against VfB Stuttgart, four 1. FC Köln players were out at least in the medium term.
How long will Steffen Baumgart have to do without Eric Martel (#6)?
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Central defender Jeff Chabot suffered an ankle injury and underwent surgery on Monday. Right-back Benno Schmitz suffered a ligament injury, which is being treated conservatively, but will mean he will be out of action for at least two to four weeks. Mathias Olesen was badly hit in the ankle, an exact diagnosis is still pending. Midfielder Eric Martel suffered a broken metacarpal which requires an examination by a hand specialist.
Because Mark Uth (pubic bone surgery) will also be out for weeks, Steffen Baumgart will take a handful of players from the U19s and U21s (possibly central defender Rijad Smajic, midfielders Meiko Wäschenbach, Wincent Suchanek and Right-back Tidiane Touré) up to the pros.
However, the Cologne team – who are selling right-back Kingsley Ehizibue to Udinese Calcio for around 1.5 million euros – will almost certainly be active again on the transfer market: “With the findings, a new situation has arisen. We will explore the transfer market in the next few days and We’ll see if we can improve defensively again,” says managing director Christian Keller.
A situation that one would have liked to have been able to avoid
He will exchange ideas with scouting and the coaches. The questions that arise are obvious: What is necessary? What is possible? And who comes from their own offspring in question? The personnel situation, which has been comfortable for a long time, is suddenly tense, before the start of the English weeks, a situation that one would have liked to have avoided in Cologne.