Justin Diehl suffered a muscle injury in the 2-0 defeat against Bayer Leverkusen and will miss 1. FC Köln for the time being.
On Monday morning, Justin Diehl was still hopeful. When the youngster from 1. FC Cologne was at Geißbockheim for treatment, he reported to his coach Timo Schultz that he was already feeling better. However, the 19-year-old, who had been substituted the day before against Bayer Leverkusen just four minutes after being substituted on, had not yet been examined in detail at the time – in the end, the doctors prescribed Diehl a compulsory break.
The MRI check at the MediaPark Clinic on Monday brought clarity; it “revealed a muscle injury that will require a break of several weeks,” as the FC explained on Tuesday afternoon. Especially now that the offensive talent has been given more and more games, this is bitter for the billy goats.
Schultz saw the injury even without an MRI machine
“I’m not a doctor and I don’t have an MRI machine in my cell phone, but it looked very much like a muscle injury,” Timo Schultz had already suspected on Sunday evening. Because he had probably seen scenes like the one in the 66th minute of the derby against Leverkusen many times in his career, whether as a coach or previously as a player.
In the first minute after his substitution, Diehl had a sprint duel with Bayer’s right-back Josip Stanisic and lost it – because he felt something in the back of his right thigh in the first few meters. After a second sprint attempt, the Cologne home-grown athlete sank to the ground and then crawled off the field almost in tears.
A week after his starting eleven debut in Stuttgart, Diehl experienced a premiere that he would have liked to have done without: his first injury as a Bundesliga professional. If, as expected, it is a torn muscle fiber, the left winger will miss both the derby at Borussia Mönchengladbach and the home game against RB Leipzig. A comeback would only be possible after the international break at the earliest, namely on Easter Sunday in Augsburg.
Thielmann and Ljubicic suspended
In general, the past weekend was probably even more bitter for FC in terms of personnel than in terms of placement in the table. After all, anything other than a defeat against the designated champions from Leverkusen would have been a huge surprise. But in addition to Diehl’s injury, the 0-2 defeat also resulted in two suspensions.
Jan Thielmann, who injured Granit Xhaka’s Achilles tendon after 13 minutes and was sent off with a red card after viewing the video images, will also not be available again until after the international break. The DFB’s verdict was received at Geißbockheim on Monday evening: the offensive all-rounder will be suspended for two games. Dejan Ljubicic, on the other hand, who received a yellow card against Leverkusen for complaining, will only miss the derby in Mönchengladbach on Saturday afternoon due to his fifth warning.
It was not for nothing that Timo Schultz spoke of a “losing battle” after the defeat against leaders Bayer. Before the next battle on the Lower Rhine, a complicated personnel puzzle definitely awaits the coach, who will also have to do without Mark Uth and Luca Waldschmidt.