The German U21 national team will have to do without winger Ansgar Knauff at the European Championships in Georgia and Romania, which begin on Wednesday (until July 8).
The 21-year-old from Bundesliga club Eintracht Frankfurt broke his collarbone during the dress rehearsal behind closed doors against Switzerland’s U21s (3-1) on Friday.
Knauff has already left the training camp in South Tyrol and has already had an operation. The DFB reacted on Saturday evening and nominated Finn Ole Becker from TSG Hoffenheim.
“Surgery survived well”, it said on Saturday evening on Knauff’s Instagram channel. In one photo, the goalscorer can be seen in the hospital bed with a thumbs up. “It’s just not easy to find the right words for it”, Knauff was quoted as saying. he be “extremely disappointed of course”but I want to come back stronger.
“Get closer together”
“The news of Ansgar’s injury hit us all hard. His absence is an awful shame for him personally and a great loss for the whole team. Now we have to work even closer together.”said head coach Antonio Di Salvo.
Becker is now to replace Knauff and is expected at the training camp in South Tyrol on Sunday. “We are pleased that Finn Ole was able to step in at such short notice”according to Di Salvo.
On Sunday, the DFB selection sets off for Georgia, where they start the tournament against Israel in Kutaisi on Thursday. The other group matches will follow on June 25 against the Czech Republic and on June 28 (both at 6:00 p.m.) against England.