Team

Four players set to return

Head coach Steffen Baumgart could see several players return for the game against Eintracht Braunschweig. Here is a squad update following yesterday’s 1-1 draw against Nürnberg.

At the press conference following Sunday’s 1-1 draw against 1. FC Nürnberg, Steffen Baumgart shook his head when asked about Ludovit Reis having to come off injured in the 31st minute. The midfielder, who captained the Rothosen yesterday, went off the pitch after going down for a second time. “We hope for the best, but it didn’t look great,” said Baumgart to the journalist. “His injury after half an hour made him our seventh absentee, it’s slowly getting too much for us.”

Daniel Elfadli made it 1-0 for HSV against FCN.

The coach was referring to the long list of absentees for the Nürnberg game. Prior to Reis, it consisted of the suspended duo of Sebastian Schonlau and Jonas Meffert, as well as the injured Silvan Hefti, Emir Sahiti, Dennis Hadzikadunic, Robert Glatzel and Valon Zumberi. Even for a squad with as much depth as HSV’s, it’s something that can be hard to compensate for. The coach and the players are doing their best to deal with the current situation and are trying to remain positive. “We’ve got a lot of quality and depth in our squad and just need to do our best when it comes to replacing players. We didn’t keep things tight enough against Nürnberg though,” commented Daniel Elfadli.

At least Baumgart may have Sahiti and Hadzikadunic available again for the away game against Eintracht Braunschweig. The pair are due back in team training, while Schonlau and Meffert are eligible again after their bans. This will give Baumgart a boost, even if the game at Braunschweig is already on Friday night, thus most likely ruling out Reis. Scans will soon determine the extent of his injury from the Nürnberg draw.