Eintracht Frankfurt will have to do without Aymen Barkok for an undetermined length of time. The Moroccan international injured his knee during the international match in Guinea on Tuesday, an exact diagnosis is still pending. In addition, Christopher Lenz will be out longer than originally expected.
The trip to the Moroccan national team could hardly have gone better for Barkok. Unlike in Frankfurt, he was in the starting eleven three times, in two games against Guinea-Bissau Morocco won 5-0 and 3-0, followed by a 4-1 win in Guinea. On top of that, Barkok scored his first international goal in the second game against Guinea-Bissau with a powerful low shot from around 17 metres. But in the third game, he injured his knee in the early stages and had to be substituted in the 14th minute. “Everything is still being clarified, but he will definitely be out against Hertha,” said coach Oliver Glasner.
He will also have to do without Christopher Lenz (fibre tear), the left-back has suffered a setback and will “miss the next rounds”, the coach reports. Sebastian Rode will also have to remain patient. The captain had undergone arthroscopic surgery on his left knee in August and returned to team training last week. “Sebastian has only been in training as a wild card so far so that we don’t have to chase him into every duel. He will not be involved against Hertha.”
Apart from that, the coach has all his men at his disposal, including Evan Ndicka (knee problems) and Almamy Toure, who had a knock on his ankle in Munich. In addition, Rafael Borré will return from the Colombian national team in time. The striker will play with Colombia against Ecuador on Thursday evening (11pm German time), but will already land in Frankfurt on Friday evening. “Then we’ll see how it looks with him,” Glasner leaves an assignment open.
