Stefan Lainer is a guy who is not easily knocked down. But even the Austrian can do without experiences like the one he had on Sunday. Whether he will be allowed to start again after his unsuccessful comeback to the starting eleven?
When Lainer left the pitch on Sunday, the game had long been over. What made the moment of substitution particularly bitter was the fact that it was only the 29th minute of the game at the time – and SC Freiburg were already leading 5:0. It was a completely unsuccessful comeback for the right-back, who had to leave the field together with Alassane Plea. With the exception of goalkeeper Yann Sommer, every other Borussian had applied for an early retirement and coach Adi Hütter correctly stated after the final whistle: “It could have happened to anyone. It explicitly had nothing to do with the two players. I could have replaced anyone. “
Appearance against Freiburg came too early for Lainer
Nevertheless, it became apparent during the half-hour that Lainer is still considerably behind after breaking his ankle. Irrespective of the fact that the Freiburg team scored the first two goals through his right side of defence, his start against Freiburg was obviously too early. Which is quite explainable: Lainer, who had injured his ankle so badly in the 0:4 loss at Leverkusen on 21 August, was out for over three months. Before Freiburg, the defender had only been able to gain some competitive practice during his brief stint in Cologne (substitution in the 81st minute of the game)
In, out – and straight back in again? Hütter is also likely to take a close look at Lainer in the coming training days and check whether he will send him out from the start again on Saturday in Leipzig. Alternatively, Patrick Herrmann could take over the position or Joe Scally could switch over from the left side. On the other hand, Hütter must also see that the international gains match practice as quickly as possible and finds his rhythm. A Lainer in top form is always a reinforcement for the Fohlenelf.