On Thursday, VfB Stuttgart set off on their Japan adventure. The 28-man squad also includes the long-term injured Dan-Axel Zagadou and Josha Vagnoman
The journey began in the early hours of the morning. Stuttgart embarked on their third official “Bundesliga Japan Tour”, which will take the runners-up first to Kyoto and then to Hiroshima until August 1, where test matches against Kyoto Sanga (on July 28) and Sanfreece Hiroshima (August 1) await. It is the fifth trip to the Far East, where they have already been to Singapore and Indonesia as well as Saigon (Vietnam), Hong Kong, the Philippines and South Korea.
Vagnoman and Zagadou are also traveling
With three goalkeepers from the quartet of Alexander Nübel, Fabian Bredlow and Stefan Drljaca, from which Dennis Seimen is missing, who is due to start in the 3rd division with VfB II, and 25 outfield players. These include two professionals who only play a supporting role in the Land of the Rising Sun. Josha Vagnoman and Dan-Axel Zagadou will not play a game in Japan and will merely continue their rehab measures
While the former Dortmund player will need a little longer to be fully fit following the cruciate ligament rupture he suffered in February, Vagnoman is expected to return to full team training at least for the foreseeable future. After the trip, further examinations in Stuttgart will shed light on the status of the right-back’s metatarsal injury.
With the hope that it will “then be completely healed”, as Sebastian Hoeneß says. “From that moment on, he will be fully involved in team training,” said the head coach, who is optimistic about Vagnoman’s speedy return after several months out injured. “Josha is in great shape, he’s in really good form. Now the bone just needs to be really well healed so that he can get fully involved in team training. “
On the other hand, another convalescent is missing from the traveling squad: Nikolas Nartey, who missed the whole of last season due to cartilage damage in his knee following surgery, remained in Stuttgart. There, the Dane will continue to be carefully introduced to the demands of professional contact soccer. Given the severity of the injury he suffered, this is a process that is still a long way off.
Nartey’s compatriot Wahid Faghir also remained in Stuttgart. The striker has returned after his year on loan at second division club SV Elversberg and has a contract with the Neckar club until the end of June 2026. However, unlike another player returning on loan, the attacker has no prospects at VfB and is set to leave. Mo Sankoh, who has returned from the Netherlands after spending two years abroad with Vitesse Arnhem and Heracles Almelo, should, unlike Faghir, help the VfB reserves in their fight to stay in the league
