Just the other day, Hoffenheim’s Christoph Baumgartner had to take an enforced break due to a COVID-19 infection and now muscular problems are slowing him down.
As planned, Baumgartner had travelled to the national team with his Hoffenheim teammates Florian Grillitsch and Stefan Posch. The 22-year-old has also become a fixture in Austria’s selection team. But while Grillitsch was in the starting eleven for Saturday’s World Cup qualifier against Israel (4:2 – with TSG striker Munas Dabbur) and Posch was on the bench, Baumgartner did not appear in the line-up at all.
The attacking midfielder suffered an as yet undefined muscle injury in final training. “We did everything we could again to get him fit, but it just didn’t make sense,” explained national coach Franco Foda, “It’s a great, great pity. He was in a very good mood and could certainly have given the team more impetus with the way he plays.”
Meanwhile, it is certain that Baumgartner will also miss Austria’s second international match on Monday against Moldova. “He definitely won’t be able to play on Monday,” said Foda, “but he is undergoing therapy here with us, we have been in contact with Hoffenheim. “
It could be tight for the Leipzig game
This therefore appears to be a less serious injury, but it still puts Baumgartner’s call-up for Hoffenheim’s next home game at risk. In a week’s time, RB Leipzig will be visiting Sinsheim. That could be tight for the Horner native, who TSG initially lured into the youth academy from St. Pölten four years ago.
Performers at TSG
In the meantime, Baumgartner has risen to become a key player for the Kraichgauer and one of the most dangerous offensive players, and his contract was immediately extended until 2025. He has already scored three goals in the current season, but still lags behind the performances of the previous season.
