Setback for Gladbach: captain Kleindienst out with another muscle tear
Bottom side Borussia Moenchengladbach will be without captain Tim Kleindienst for Sunday's relegation clash with Hoffenheim after coach Alexander Blessin confirmed a fresh muscle tear.
Archive image · Photo: Blue-Letter at German Wikipedia. / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain (cropped and resized)
Borussia Moenchengladbach will be without captain Tim Kleindienst for Sunday's Bundesliga relegation clash with Hoffenheim after the striker suffered another muscle fibre tear in training, coach Alexander Blessin said on Friday. The new injury is in a different spot, Blessin said. Kleindienst had already missed the derby defeat at Cologne. "It's bitter for him, it's bitter for us," Blessin said.
Defender Jan Leszczynski is also sidelined for now with a knee contusion sustained in the derby, while 19-year-old Fritz Fleck has what Blessin called a severe strain. The Hoffenheim game comes too soon for Franck Honorat and Ko Itakura. Nicolas Kuehn could return, with Blessin to decide on Sunday; he should be available next week at the latest.
Sunday's match at Borussia-Park pits the bottom two against each other: Gladbach are last after five matchdays and Hoffenheim 17th. Hoffenheim also lost 3-2 to Besiktas in European competition on Thursday.