On Thursday, double winners FC Bayern confirmed that national player Giulia Gwinn had undergone successful surgery following her shoulder injury.
The defender had already dislocated her shoulder in the international match between Germany and Austria in mid-April and had to play with a bandage at the end of the season. She refrained from interjecting.
It had been clear for a week that Gwinn would miss the DFB Women’s World Cup qualifying games against Norway and in Slovenia (July 5th and 9th) due to the operation.
“It is a fact that the shoulder needs to be operated on,” the 26-year-old said on “Sky” after FC Bayern’s cup triumph two weeks ago. The captain of the DFB selection will “dedicate herself to her rehabilitation from now on,” as her club announced.
Video: No fan proximity at the DFB? That’s it
Against Norway, Germany can complete their qualification for the 2027 World Cup in Brazil ahead of schedule. After the recent 0-0 draw in Austria, the team leads Group A4 by just one point ahead of the Scandinavians.
Bayern star haunted by serious injuries
This continues a sad series of injuries for Gwinn. At the European Championships last year, an inner ligament injury in her left knee in the first game cost her the entire tournament. In previous years, the Bayern player suffered two cruciate ligament tears (2020 and 2022), but always fought her way back.
Gwinn says she has changed as a result of her injuries and the resulting forced breaks. “Before my first injury, I was an extremely shy person,” she told the “Tagesspiegel”.
She now appears more self-confident and has become a contact person for her colleagues. After two cruciate ligament tears, she is also “a different player”.
Gwinn believes that increasing stress, physical requirements, tighter schedules and rapidly growing competition are partly responsible for the increase in such injuries. However, the risk can “never be completely set to zero”.
Now she has to practice patience again.
