Injury drama

Cruciate ligament rupture! ÖFB star Xaver Schlager misses European Championships

Xaver Schlager(Bild: GEPA pictures)

No sooner has the news that Ralf Rangnick will remain as team manager sent the whole of footballing Austria into raptures, than there is real bad news to digest: Xaver Schlager, a very important piece of the mosaic for the success of Team Red-White-Red, will be out for the upcoming European Football Championship after suffering a cruciate ligament rupture! 

The 26-year-old slipped in a running duel with Andrej Kramaric during RB Leipzig's clash with TSG Hoffenheim on Friday evening without any input from the opponent and immediately grabbed his already bandaged left knee.

Rose error: "He's fine for now!"
 Although Schlager was substituted after a lengthy treatment, his coach Marco Rose was still optimistic late in the evening. "He's fine for now," said Rose. "Xaver is standing well on his feet. We have to take pictures and then hopefully we can give the all-clear ..."

This clarity has now been available since Saturday afternoon: As RB Leipzig announced, the examinations had revealed a cruciate ligament rupture. Schlager will undergo surgery in Innsbruck on Sunday and "will be out for several months". Schlager had already suffered such an injury during his time at VfL Wolfsburg. Back then, however, the right knee was affected - and the ÖFB team player missed a total of 154 days as a result ...

"This is a shock for all of us and especially for Xaver!"
"This is a shock for all of us and especially for Xaver. He is a mainstay in our team and has played a strong season so far, which he wanted to crown with participation in EURO 2024," explained Leipzig's sports director Rouven Schröder.

The 26-year-old is considered a key figure for the ÖFB team in central midfield thanks to his fighting spirit and stamina. This is the second cruciate ligament rupture of Schlager's career; last year he was out for a longer period due to a syndesmosis ligament rupture. In addition to Nicolas Seiwald, Konrad Laimer, Marcel Sabitzer or Florian Grillitsch can also play in Schlager's position.

The ÖFB wished the 43-time team player a speedy recovery via social media. "We are at a loss for words ... ! We wish you lots of strength and are already looking forward to your return, Xaver!"