Daniel Didavi was not in the VfB Stuttgart squad for the 2-0 win against his former club Wolfsburg. When asked why he did without the veteran, coach Pellegrino Matarazzo referred to the 2G rule in the team hotel.
Although the personnel situation at VfB remains tight and with Philipp Klement a midfielder out at short notice due to a positive COVID-19 test,l Didavi was not in the squad on Saturday. Matarazzo explained the 31-year-old’s omission after the game thus: “Today the 2G rule was in the hotel. I told Dida that if it was a 50-50 decision and he was not allowed to go to the hotel, then I would take someone else. He understood that too. That’s why Dida wasn’t in the squad.”
With this, Matarazzo indirectly revealed that Didavi has not been fully vaccinated against the corona virus or recovered. Chris Führich, on the other hand, who had only just returned from an infection, was in the line-up and came on as a wild card – although Matarazzo had actually ruled out a call-up so soon after the isolation.
Massimo missing until the end of the year
VfB will also have to do without Klement, who tested positive, in the last two games of the year against Bayern and in Cologne. The same applies to Roberto Massimo, who twisted his ankle in Wolfsburg after an unpunished foul by Paulo Otavio (22nd) and had to be substituted shortly afterwards. “He will certainly not be able to play again until the end of the year,” Matarazzo said. An MRI examination on Sunday brought the diagnosis: capsule injury in the ankle joint. A ligament injury, on the other hand, is not present, which is why sports director Sven Mislintat spoke of “luck in misfortune”.
In the case of Borna Sosa, who was absent in Wolfsburg due to injury, there is at least hope of a return in the short term. “Borna has a back, knee, thigh – somehow everything at the same time,” said Matarazzo, describing the complaints that probably radiate from the back. But “nothing structural is broken”. Whether it will be enough for the game against Bayern on Tuesday remains to be seen.
