Captain Jonas Hector will be missing from 1. FC Köln’s away game against Arminia Bielefeld, a comeback from the fit Jannes Horn is still questionable. Coach Steffen Baumgart also made FC’s vaccination rate public.
Without captain Jonas Hector, 1. FC Köln will try to claim their first away treble of the season at Bielefeld Alm on Saturday. The former international is suffering from muscular problems in his thigh and had to come off shortly after the break in the derby against Mönchengladbach. “The risk is too great,” coach Steffen Baumgart announced on Thursday. It wasn’t a structural injury, “but it hasn’t improved enough for him to go in with clear thoughts.” So that’s why the break for Hector.
Hector missing, Horn fit again
As things stand, he will be replaced by Benno Schmitz, who already did a good job last Saturday in the derby after Hector’s substitution, working solidly defensively and, among other things, preparing the lead through Ljubicic. Jannes Horn, who was out of action for months due to hip surgery but has been back in action for a few weeks now and also played for the U23s, would also be available. Baumgart: “It’s a question of whether we trust Jannes to do that yet.” Schmitz can be counted on to play on the right, and Kingsley Schindler, who played a part in Duda’s decisive 3:1 win against Mönchengladbach, would then play on the right side.
The coach also announced on Thursday that the squad had now reached 100 per cent immunisation status. Baumgart was keen to make this public: “We convinced and kept at it. We didn’t sit back and say we accept it, but kept talking to the boys. We tried not to leave them alone with their legitimate questions, but to give them answers as best we could. Especially our medical team around Bettina Kuper. That’s why we are simply happy that we were able to go this way with the boys and that the boys have gone this way with us.
