Unlucky Gartner

“I can’t end my career like this”

Unlucky Christian Gartner (left)(Bild: GEPA pictures)

Christian Gartner from Illmitz suffered his fourth cruciate ligament rupture in the summer and is now fighting for his last chance during the winter break. The injury to fellow sufferer and Admira goalkeeper Verwüster put the 30-year-old off.

Marco Reus, Nicolò Zaniolo, Eder Militao, Sasa Kalajdzic. Numerous footballers were blessed with a lot of talent. And they were dogged by bad luck or injuries over the course of their careers. Stripfing's playmaker Christian Gartner, described by many officials as the best second division footballer, was no exception. The player from Illmitz suffered his fourth (!) cruciate ligament rupture in the summer and subsequently decided against an operation. With conservative treatment and plenty of muscle training, the comeback should be successful in the spring. A game on a knife-edge.

Gartner is working on his comeback(Bild: GEPA pictures)

Admira goalkeeper Dennis Verwüster recently went down the same path - and suffered a serious injury! "I had a good talk with him two weeks beforehand. Of course it was a shock for me too," says Gartner, who has already returned to training with the team and suffered setbacks. "I felt something and had to take a break." Meanwhile, he was allowed to get a taste of the coaching business with interim coach Alex Grünwald. "It was very nice, but I'd rather play again," says the 30-year-old, not burying his head in the sand. "I can't and don't want to end my career like this."
"Can annoy anyone"
How is he coping mentally during this time of suffering? "I talk about it a lot with my girlfriend and also work with a mental coach." And in the gym every day. "From December 22 to 28, I'm recharging my batteries and spending time with my family. Otherwise it's just training for me at the moment." Grünwald likes to hear: "Garti takes the team to another level. His absence really hurt." You could see it in the results. "Can annoy anyone "Sports director Grünwald was denied a second league win with the stragglers as coach. "Nevertheless, we saw that we can upset anyone," said the ex-Austrian. "Unfortunately, we didn't have the momentum on our side. Luck was missing." Gartner can tell you a thing or two about that: "2025 can't get any worse. But I'm not letting it get me down, I'm still motivated."