At first there was talk of an unclear test result, followed by confirmation on Wednesday: Bochum right-back Cristian Gamboa will miss the game against Borussia Mönchengladbach due to COVID-19.
Coach Thomas Reis had hoped for an easing of the personnel situation before the meeting with Borussia Mönchengladbach on Friday evening at Castroper Straße. But nothing will come of it. The VfL coach had already had to rebuild his defence for Sunday’s game in Frankfurt (1:2). He will also have to improvise against the Foals.
Reis plans without Leitsch
Gamboa was suspended in Frankfurt due to a yellow card, so now the Costa Rica international is missing due to COVID-19. This is not the only absence in the Bochum back line. Central defender Maxim Leitsch, who tested positive the previous week, has not yet been able to start training. He is planning without Leitsch, said Thomas Reis on the sidelines of the training session.
With Danilo Soares also likely to be absent, Reis will have to rely on a similar line-up to the one he used in Frankfurt. The only permanent fixture in the back four will be Armel Bella Kotchap, who has been in very good form recently. Herbert Bockhorn and Kostas Stafylidis as well as Erhan Masovic are likely to take the places next to him, as they did in Frankfurt.
Also absent is Danny Blum, who had to miss out at short notice against Frankfurt due to muscular problems and is still not fit. VfL also announced on Tuesday that Milos Pantovic and Robert Tesche also tested positive for COVID-19.
Not ideal conditions for the promoted team to take an important step against Borussia Mönchengladbach in the fight to stay in the league.
