Germany defender Nico Schlotterbeck has been ruled out of the remainder of the World Cup after sustaining a medial ankle ligament injury.The 26-year-old was forced to come off at half-time of Saturday’s game against Ivory Coast with what appeared to be an ankle issue.Schlotterbeck will stay in the United States with his international team-mates, but will play no further part in the tournament and is set to be sidelined for several months.He was replaced in Saturday’s 2-1 win by Antonio Rudiger.Germany head coach Julian Nagelsmann said after the game “it’s not looking good”. The next day he said in an interview with the German Football Association (DFB) that the defender had “suffered a medial ankle ligament injury” and “it was remarkable that he managed to carry on until half-time”.The Borussia Dortmund defender started both of Germany’s games at the tournament and scored in the 7-1 opening win over Curacao, with the match against Ivory Coast his 29th international cap.
Schlotterbeck’s injury is the latest setback the German squad have had to deal with after Lennart Karl, the Bayern Munich teenager, was ruled out of the tournament with a thigh issue just days before it began.Germany are into the knockout stages after winning Saturday’s game 2-1 thanks to two Deniz Undav goals. They next play Ecuador on Thursday having already advanced as group winners.‘Dreadful and devastating for Germany’Analysis by Sebastian Stafford-BloorA devastating blow for Germany. Schlotterbeck’s left-footed passing is an invaluable part of their build up and Nagelsmann does not have a replacement.Real Madrid’s Antonio Rudiger will now likely become the first-choice partner for Jonathan Tah in the back four, but he is both right footed and a defender of a different profile.Rudiger remains a very good player, even at the veteran stage of his career, but his inclusion will dramatically alter both Germany’s early possession phases and the balance of a defence that already has security issues.And what about the impact upon Nathaniel Brown? The Eintracht Frankfurt full-back has been a great success so far, inverting effectively from the left and pushing into midfield to help with Germany’s chance creation.Unfortunately, the efficacy of that dynamic depended upon Schlotterbeck covering the space behind Brown and working in tandem with him; how will Nagelsmann rewire that part of his side in response?And Schlotterbeck has been an incredibly useful set-piece target, too. He scored from a corner against Curacao and would have been one of Germany’s primary weapons in that area and a key asset as the tournament progresses.There’s no avoiding the conclusion: this is dreadful news.
