RB Leipzig's Timo Werner out of Germany internationals
October 2, 2017
RB Leipzig striker Timo Werner is out of Germany's final two World Cup qualifiers against Northern Ireland and Azebaijan as he continues to suffer from an unusual injury. But the noise in Istanbul was not a factor.
Image: picture alliance/dpa/J. Woitas
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National team coach Joachim Löw will be without in-form striker Timo Werner for Germany's two remaining World Cup qualifiers during this international break.
Werner, who has scored six goals in his first eight appearances for the national team, was substituted during RB Leipzig's 2-0 Champions League defeat away at Besiktas in Istanbul last Tuesday and wasn't in the squad for his team's Bundesliga trip to Cologne on Sunday.
Werner is not a popular player in the Bundesliga after diving to win a penalty against Schalke last season, although the fact that he plays for the unpopular Red Bull-backed franchise is arguably a bigger reason.
But according to the medical team at RB Leipzig, Werner's withdrawal in Istanbul and exclusion from their game at the weekend had nothing to do with noise levels but rather circulatory problems caused by a blockage of the muscles surrounding the vertebrae in his neck, as well as the jaw joint.
Werner has quickly become a key man for Jogi LöwImage: Getty Images/Bongarts/A. Hassenstein
'Under control'
A more thorough diagnosis is set to follow but the blockage has caused Werner problems with swallowing, shortage of breath and dizziness – issues which re-emerged in training on Friday.
"There is no point letting him join up with the national team before we have a proper diagnosis," said RB Leipzig sporting director Ralf Rangnick on Sunday, "but of course we are concerned about him."
"We need to make sure that Timo is healthy again," added coach Ralph Hasenhüttl, also confirming that he has been in contact with national team coach Joachim Löw. "It's under control and he's being checked out. We don't know if he'll be able to join up with the national team but playing football is the last thing on his mind at the moment."
In Werner's absence, goals from Lukas Klostermann and Yussuf Poulsen saw RB secure a hard-fought 2-1 win over struggling Cologne and move up to fourth in the Bundesliga.
Löw short of attacking options
With Wolfsburg's Mario Gomez not yet ready to return and Hoffenheim's Sandro Wagner picking up an injury against Freiburg on Sunday, Löw's options in attack are limited.
Thomas Müller and Lars Stindl are all available but none provide the clinical finishing of a true number nine like Werner, while Mark Uth and Maximilian Philipp will have to wait until November after Löw, as usual, declined to call up a replacement striker.
Further back, Dortmund duo Mario Götze and Julian Weigl are still not ready to return to international duty despite making club comebacks recently, while captain Manuel Neuer, defender Jonas Hector and midfielders Sami Khedira and Mesut Özil will also miss the matches in Belfast and Kaiserslautern.
mf/mp (SID/DPA)
Matchday 7 in pictures
Bayern slip up again, Leipzig hold on against Cologne and Freiburg's thrilling win over Hoffenheim. Even before Sunday's excitement, there was late drama in Frankfurt and two stunning goals for Borussia Dortmund.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/C. Stache
Hertha Berlin 2-2 Bayern Munich
New manager, same story. For the second straight week, Bayern Munich blew a 2-0 lead, this time at the hands of Hertha Berlin. Mats Hummels headed in the opening goal after 10 minutes and Robert Lewandowski doubled Bayern's lead shortly after the break. But Ondrej Duda (left) and Salomon Kalou (center) scored two quick goals to level the scoring.
Image: Imago/Voigt/J. Huebner
Cologne 1-2 RB Leipzig
Bottom club Cologne scored their first goal since matchday 2 but their best league performance of the season so far wasn't enough to stop RB Leipzig, who triumphed thanks to goals from Lukas Klostermann and Yussuf Poulsen (pictured). Klostermann beat an otherwise brilliant Timo Horn at his near post in the first half before Poulsen headed home from close range in the second.
Image: Imago/J. Huebner
Freiburg 3-2 Hoffenheim
There was a lunchtime thriller at the Schwarzwalder stadium as Freiburg fought back from a goal down to beat Hoffenheim. There was an early flurry of goals - three in five minutes to be exact - with Hack giving Hoffenheim an early lead before a quickfire Freiburg double put Freiburg in front. The home side added a third through Stenzel and held on despite an injury time own goal from Schuster.
Image: Getty Images/Bongarts/M. Hangst
Augsburg 1-2 Borussia Dortmund
An outrageous backheel from Andriy Yarmolenko (pictured) set the league leaders on their way early on but the hosts soon levelled through Caiuby's close-range header. Following awful Augsburg defending, Shinji Kagawa netted a sumptuous chip on 23 minutes to rival Yarmolenko's brilliance. The video assistant awarded Dortmund a penalty but Pierre-Emerick Aubamayeng botched his chipped spotkick.
Image: Reuters/M. Rehle
Eintracht Frankfurt 2-1 Stuttgart
Sebastien Haller (pictured) produced a stunning bicycle kick deep into stoppage time to hand the hosts the points. Ante Rebic had given Frankfurt the lead after an error by Holger Badstuber but Stuttgart hit back when Simon Terodde headed in a corner shortly after coming on as a substitute. Frankfurt's Simon Falette was then sent off but the video assistant ruled the push was just outside the box.
Image: imago/T. Frey
Borussia Mönchengladbach 2-1 Hannover
Gladbach snatched victory at the death when Thorgan Hazard (pictured) converted a penalty after the referee awarded the stoppage time spotkick in consultation with the video assistant. Salif Sane was adjudged to have fouled Vincenzo Grifo. Matthias Ginter and Martin Harnik traded the other goals in a game delayed 15 minutes because the Hannover team bus was caught in traffic.
Image: imago/S. Wensierski
Hamburg 0-0 Werder Bremen
The Nordderby ended in a goalless draw, which did little to help the two struggling teams in the table. Bremen started the better but Hamburg grew into the game and Gotoku Sakai had arguably the best chance. Another impressive Japanese player, Tatsuya Ito, went off injured on his first Hamburg start.
Image: imago/Ulmer/B. Hake
Wolfsburg 1-1 Mainz
Josuha Guilavogui (pictured) headed in a corner 10 minutes into the second half to boost Wolfsburg but they were pegged back when Yoshinori Muto netted with a superb header of his own from almost on the penalty spot. The draw means Martin Schmidt has three points from his opening three games as Wolfsburg coach.
Image: Getty Images/Bongarts/S. Franklin
Schalke 1-1 Bayer Leverkusen
Leon Bailey (pictured) came off the bench to rescue a point for Leverkusen in their draw at Schalke on Friday. The home side had taken a first-half lead through a stunning Leon Goretzka free kick. The result sums up both sides' inconsistent form.
