National team: injured basketball player is waiting for Schröder

While the German basketball players in Sweden are fine-tuning the European Championship, Dennis Schröder enjoyed some time with his family.

Everyone was waiting for the new leader and captain of the national team, who was struggling with an ankle injury just days before the long-awaited European Championships at home. “I won’t miss that,” said the 28-year-old Schröder after the Supercup. But time is running out, the use of the non-club NBA professional in the World Cup qualifier on Thursday (6.30 p.m. / Magentasport) in Stockholm against Sweden was open until the end.

Schröder travels to Sweden

After all, Schröder flew to Sweden three days late together with DBB Vice President Armin Andres. Whether the 28-year-old will also play there or be rested will only be decided shortly before the game in the Stockholm Arena.

But there is not much left of the planned super team with seven NBA players and a lot of Bundesliga power from Alba Berlin and FC Bayern Munich. In Isaac Bonga, Moritz Wagner (both injured), Isaiah Hartenstein and Maximilian Kleber (each omitted), four of the seven planned NBA professionals are now missing.

Theis with knee problems

Daniel Theis is also struggling with knee problems and will not play against Slovenia in Stockholm and on Sunday (3:00 p.m.) in Munich. One week before the start of the European Championship tournament, there is only the talented Franz Wagner from the Orlando Magic, who only made his debut for Germany this summer and is considered a beacon of hope. A tricky personal puzzle arose for national coach Gordon Herbert in his first summer, which he would gladly have done without.

But Schröder has not lost his confidence. After the Supercup, in which the Herbert team was defeated by fellow European Championship favorites Serbia with a 27-point difference, he wrote on Instagram: “Of course that wasn’t the result we wanted, but we continue to dream of another cup. ” Schröder meant the European Championship trophy, but in view of the current staff misery, the self-imposed goal of an European Championship medal should also be a long way off.

Nowitzki hopes for a successful home EM

Because the game plan is not good for Germany, Schröder and Theis don’t have much time to get healthy and fit. Already in the preliminary round of the European Championship three absolute top opponents are waiting in Slovenia with superstar Luka Doncic as well as France and Lithuania. “We don’t want to hope that we’ll be eliminated in the preliminary round again, but that the boys will play a great tournament with a home crowd,” Dirk Nowitzki told dpa.

The former captain and current EM ambassador will be there live in Cologne to follow the games. “We’ve suffered a few setbacks. We’ve got a lot of injuries, but I still hope the squad is deep enough.” But the preparations are not really promising so far.

But first Sweden. After the strong qualification record so far with five wins from the preliminary round, another success this week should be enough to set course for the 2023 World Cup. National coach Herbert planned the cycle with the European Championships at home this year, the World Cup in Asia next year and the 2024 Olympics in Paris as a major project.

“We have a three-year program. Then we have the World Cup and hopefully the Olympics too. We want to form a hard core that can compete in all three tournaments,” Herbert said at the beginning of the preparation. Now he has to compensate for cancellation after cancellation in his own country before the tournament.