CHICAGO (AP) — Lennart Karl, the 18-year-old midfielder for the German national team, may be sidelined. world cup After suffering an unknown injury during training on Friday and being sent to the hospital for tests.
Karl made his breakthrough at Bayern Munich and is considered one of the top young players in any World Cup team since joining the club. Youngest goalscorer in history in the Champions League.
“Unfortunately Leni was injured in training today. We have to wait and see how it goes, but to be honest he wasn’t feeling very well.” Germany Coach Julian Nagelsmann said this ahead of Saturday’s final World Cup training session against the United States.
“He needs to handle the situation, and so do we, and we’ll see what happens. He needs a diagnosis, so then I’ll let you know. After that, we’ll see if we can continue to play with him, hopefully in the tournament, or if I need to name a replacement.”
Under World Cup rules, Nagelsmann is allowed to call in replacement players in the event of a “serious injury or illness” up to 24 hours before kick-off in Germany’s opening game. That match will be against World Cup newcomer Curacao on June 14th.
Karl made his debut for Germany in March and quickly rose to prominence, making three appearances for the national team, including a key role as a starter in last week’s 4-0 win over Finland.
Nagelsmann said on Friday that he would not bet on 40-year-old goalkeeper Manuel Neuer for the game against the United States due to continuing concerns over the calf injury he sustained against Bayern last month.
This means Neuer will be heading into the World Cup having not played for Germany in almost two years. He retired from the national team after the 2024 European Championships, but agreed to a recall last month.
Oliver Baumann has been Germany’s first choice in Neuer’s absence and started against Finland last week.
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AP World Cup: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup
