After a skull break
Ex-Schalker celebrates incredible comeback
04/10/2025 – 11:59 p.m.Reading time: 2 min.
Four months ago, Guido Burgstaller was brutally put down and suffered a broken skull. Now the professional was back on the pitch.
Almost four months after the former Bundesliga professional Guido Burgstaller was seriously injured in an assault, the striker celebrated a surprising comeback with his team Rapid Vienna. In the quarter-final first leg of the Conference League against Djurgardens IF, the Austrian was substituted in the 85th minute. Rapid won the game 0-1.
“Of course it was nice,” said Burgstaller after the game of the “Kronen” newspaper. “I didn’t notice that much. I got congratulations from all sides, so I didn’t realize it all.”
Burgstaller had been attacked by a man in the morning hours of December 14th after a team evening in the Volksgarten Volksgarten Discotheque. There had been a verbal argument beforehand. The perpetrator initially pushed Burgstaller and then hit him to the ground with his fist, the fall resulted in a skull base break.
Just a few days ago, the perpetrator was sentenced to 16 months of probation for the serious attack. The 23 -year -old defendant was guilty of serious assault at the Vienna Regional Court. In his reasoning, the judge spoke of a “pulse of stupidity”. From the prosecutor’s point of view, the attacker did not want to seriously injure the footballer. The judgment is not yet final.
Three weeks ago, the 35-year-old started again with full team training: “We increased from day to day, there were no negative reactions. Everything is coordinated with the doctors. I am ready.” To protect his head, he wore a special headband in the game against Djurgardens IF: “This is also for the psyche,” said Burgstaller. And his trainer Robert Klaus had said before the game: “He has the release, can play. I’m not taking any tourists with me”.
Burgstaller, who played in Germany for 1st FC Nürnberg, Schalke 04 and FC St. Pauli, had announced last summer to want to end his career at the end of the season. Before that, the Austrian wanted to return to the pitch again – now it was time.
“Of course I was very happy that I came in,” said the rapid professional towards the “crown”. “But what is much more important that we won against a very difficult opponent. It was a wear against a really good team. We are very happy that we will fly back to Vienna with a win.”