It could be a close call. Antonio Rüdiger pulled a muscle against Switzerland. It is uncertain whether the defender will be able to play in the round of 16. An absence would be doubly bitter.
Antonio Rüdiger pulled a thigh muscle in the last European Championship group match against Switzerland. The DFB confirmed this on the sidelines of the substitutes’ training in Herzogenaurach. It is therefore unclear whether the 31-year-old will be able to play for the national football team in the round of 16 in Dortmund on Saturday. Several media outlets had previously reported on the Real Madrid defender’s diagnosis.
Immediately after the 1:1 draw in Frankfurt, national coach Julian Nagelsmann reported on Rüdiger’s health problems, but was unable to provide any details. Rüdiger was able to finish the game, but was obviously sitting on the pitch in pain after the final whistle.
New central defense
If Rüdiger is absent from the first knockout game, Nagelsmann will have to replace his entire central defense. Rüdiger’s teammate Jonathan Tah received his second yellow card of the tournament and is suspended. Potential replacements for the starting eleven are Nico Schlotterbeck and Waldemar Anton. Robin Koch is another central defender in the DFB squad.
Rüdiger would not have been present at the regeneration session in Herzogenaurach anyway. All 13 field players and two goalkeepers who had not been in the starting eleven against Switzerland trained in the Adi Dassler Stadium. Also present in the sunshine was goalscorer Niclas Füllkrug, who had come on as a substitute in injury time to score the important equaliser.
Who Germany will face as group winners will only be decided on Tuesday evening. The candidates from Group C are England, Denmark, Slovenia and Serbia.
Source: Stern
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