The 1. FC Köln will have to do without Eric Martel in the coming weeks. This could result in the chance for a player.
With 2171 minutes of play, Eric Martel has been irreplaceable this season. Only in the first round of cup was the lack of the six, in the league he completed each game over the full distance, except for a substitute shortly before the end against Eintracht Braunschweig. Against Schalke 04, the 23-year-old had to get off the pitch at halftime. What initially looked like a precautionary measure turned out to be structural muscle injury on Monday.
The association did not call a precise downtime, but it seems certain that Martel will at least miss the games against Magdeburg, Düsseldorf and Karlsruher SC. A difficult blow for FC, because Martel is not only the highest running player in the league (238.4 kilometers), but also the most successful duels (275 duels won). For FC, the failure before the duels with the direct promotion competitors therefore comes at the wrong time.
Against Schalke, Mathias Olesen replaced him as the sole six, while Martel had helped out until his substitution in central defense. Oleses, just back after a long injury break, surprisingly celebrated his starting eleven debut in the 2nd league.
Struber praised the Luxemburger for his “reliability”, and it could be good that the 22-year-old will continue to be challenged in the coming weeks. An opportunity to prove himself for the 23-year-old, after all, his contract with FC ends in summer.
“It is difficult to say where I will be after the season,” Olesesen explained to “RTL.LU” in December. He feels comfortable in Cologne, but emphasized: “In the end it is about playing time so that I can develop further.” The Cologne -based own plant had not received this season too little in the first half of the season. Only once did Olesen play longer than a half. Due to the violation of Martel, the international could now get a new chance.
However, after his long break, Olesen is probably not yet able to go over the full 90 minutes. Against Schalke, Struber therefore changed Florian Kainz for the defensive midfield after almost an hour. The Austrian did his job properly, but as is well known, his strengths are more in offensive roles.
An alternative could be the double six with Dejan Ljubicic and Denis Huseinbasic. Both have already played next to Martel in this position, taking over the more offensive part. The fact that they also work together on the six have already proven against Nuremberg, Kaiserslautern and the HSV. Not to rule out that Struber also relies on this variant against Magdeburg.