Schalke: That’s why Reis didn’t play Thomas Ouwejan against Cologne
Thomas Ouwejan was one of Schalke’s promotion heroes last season. Now he is fit again after a long injury. That’s why he wasn’t in the squad against Cologne.
Thomas Ouwejan is something of a symbol for the never-ending crisis FC Schalke 04. In the past season, the Dutchman was still one of the promotion heroes. With three goals scored and eight assists, the Dutchman was instrumental in ensuring that the Royal Blues made their way back to the 1st division.
As a result, the left-back, who had switched from his youth club AZ Alkmaar to S04 before the 2021/22 season as part of a loan deal, was signed on and given a two-year contract. But so far the 26-year-old hasn’t really arrived in the Bundesliga.
he was firmly planned on the left side to feed Simon Terodde with his dangerous standards and actually crosses. After a mixed performance at first, Ouwejan injured the inner ligament of his left knee in the 2-0 draw against SC Freiburg at the end of October and are still out. His representative Kerim Calhanoglu could not fill the gap and has since been loaned out to SV Sandhausen. Tobias Mohr, who is actually more offensive, also comes through in this position.
The club is therefore expecting more in the winter and has signed Jere Uronen from Stade Brest until the end of the season with a purchase option.
But the Finn has not been able to fully convince so far – even in the 0-0 draw against 1. FC Köln – which is why the S04 fans are eagerly awaiting Ouwejan’s return. The nun should be right in front. Actually, he could have been there in the home game against Cologne, said Ouwejan after the game. “I’m ready to go again. I’m in full training and I hope that the coach will take me into the squad next week,” said the Dutchman.
Nevertheless, Schalke’s coach Thomas Reis does without Ouwejan. Below he explains why. “You had players like Alex Kral with you against Cologne, where you knew: 90 minutes is definitely not possible. 60 minutes is definitely not possible. 45 minutes is also tight. It was the same with Rodrigo Zalazar,” Reis explained. “Then with Thomas, if I had brought him in for this game, you would have someone else who was out a long time. And then I just had to make a decision.”
Ouwejan didn’t play either because Reis was too risky with three returns after a long injury on the bench. But the ex-Bochumer gave Ouwejan hope that he would be back in the squad at Borussia Mönchengladbach next Saturday. “Thomas is definitely a lot better again. He has the security for his knee that nothing more can happen. He also trained,” said Reis. “But those were the reasons why I only took two with me who weren’t at 100 percent yet.”