What was indicated on Monday is now a bitter certainty. Niclas Füllkrug from Borussia Dortmund will miss the international football match against Japan on Saturday (8:45 p.m. / RTL) in Wolfsburg. National coach Hansi Flick confirmed on Tuesday that the 30-year-old would return to BVB on Thursday.
According to Flick, the attacker, who switched from Werder Bremen to BVB on the home stretch of the summer transfer window, complains of problems with the back of his left thigh. Therefore, one does not want to take any risks, Flick continued.
There is a “small possibility” that Füllkrug could play in the second test on Tuesday (9:00 p.m. / ARD) against France in Dortmund. However, it is clear that you also have to take the clubs into account.
There will be no further nomination next to Thomas Müller. The veteran of FC Bayern was brought to the squad later on Monday. For the 33-year-old, it is the first stay with the DFB team since the embarrassing first-round elimination at the World Cup in Qatar.
Füllkrug, on the other hand, was called up for the first time immediately before the World Cup finals and was able to collect plus points right away. He scored the winning goal on his debut against Oman (1-0), and at the World Cup the center forward was one of the few bright spots with two goals and an assist. All in all, the native of Hanover has now scored seven goals in nine international matches.
So it goes on for the DFB team
The newcomer to BVB will probably have to wait for more appearances and goals.
After the internationals in September, October will see games against the USA (14 October) and in Mexico (18 October). At the end of November, the DFB team will then be visiting Austria.
On Wednesday, the German national team will also test internally against their own U20 after a training session in the morning behind closed doors.