Schalke 04 have been dealt a cruel blow as it has emerged that young defender Sead Kolasinac tore his anterior cruciate ligaments in yesterday’s defeat to Hannover 96.
The Bosnian lasted just 16 minutes in the 2-1 defeat on Saturday, and a MRI scan has revealed the extent of the damage, meaning he will miss six months while he undergoes treatment, and will be lucky to play until the final few games of the season.
Kolasinac will now travel to the well-known knee specialist Dr. Heinz Jürgen Eichhorn in Straubing, and will undergo surgery at the clinic on Tuesday.
It was pinpointed as the season that the 21 year old established his position in the side, after 41 appearances for the Royal Blues over two years. He had an impressive stint at the World Cup this summer, playing twice for Bosnia, the country of both of his parents.
The Schalke injury list is now inhabited by five first-team players, including Goretzka, Aogo, Farfan, and Uchida.
After nearly being off-loaded in the summer, Christian Fuchs will now fill the left-back berth, as pressure mounts on Jens Keller to improve his team’s disastrous form, which saw them dumped out of the DFB-Pokal, and then throw away a lead yesterday in Hannover.