Dani Olmo before comeback at RB Leipzig; “Not yet 60 or 70 minutes”

Missed 68 games since transfer

Dani Olmo is about to make his comeback at RB Leipzig after a two and a half month injury break. However, head coach Marco Rose curbed expectations that the Spanish international would be in the starting eleven this Saturday (3:30 p.m./Sky) in the Bundesliga against Eintracht Frankfurt. “Dani is fit to play and can get minutes. All in all, we know that it can’t be 60 or 70 minutes after the knee and shoulder injury. We have to introduce him slowly,” Rose said at the press conference on Friday.

Nevertheless, the impression during training was good. “He feels good, is in a good mood. It’s important that we have him and his quality back,” said Rose, who has all the players available apart from defense chief Willi Orbán (31) and Amadou Haidara (25), who was seconded to the Africa Cup of Nations. With a market value of 50 million euros, Olmo is the third most valuable player in Rose’s squad behind Xavi Simons (20) and Loïs Openda (23), who are valued at 70 million and 55 million respectively. Before the injury, he had scored six goals and assisted one in seven competitive games. However, the 32-time national player is repeatedly set back by injuries; since moving to RB in January 2020, he has missed 68 club and international games due to various injuries or illnesses.

In the first meeting since the cup final won 2-0 in Berlin last year, Rose expects Eintracht to be only slightly different. “The basic nature will not change, now there is an additional factor, from now on there will be more crosses because there is a target player waiting in the center. It will be our job to defend that,” emphasized Rose, referring to Frankfurt’s new signing Sasa Kalajdzic (26), who has a very good header game in the penalty area. Winter newcomer Donny van de Beek (26), whom Rose praised highly, is also expected to be in the starting eleven.

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