Only 7th place after the first half of the season and seven points away from Heidenheim in 3rd place. A disappointment for Fortuna, whose squad is one of the best in the 2nd division.
The main reason for the deficit: Many injured regular players weakened the team coached by Daniel Thioune (48) almost consistently. Until now…
Matching the holidays – Fortuna fit at last!
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Next Sunday, Thioune sends its players on winter vacation until January 2, 2023. And on time (almost) everyone is fit!
Daniel Ginczek (31/ only 6 games this season due to a torn tendon) is already doing individual training again and will return after the holidays. Then – as of now – only Nicolas Gavory (27/torn tendon) is missing.
Captain Andre Hoffmann (29/only 8 games due to a muscle injury), Jordy de Wijs (27/only 8 games due to a broken rib), Benjamin Böckle (20/only 3 appearances after a muscle injury), Matthias Zimmermann (30/only 12 appearances due to a torn ligament), Takachi Uschino (20/only 1 appearance due to a syndesmosis ligament rupture), Jorrit Hendrix (27/3 games missed due to an internal ligament rupture) and Rouwen Hennings (35/missing 3 games) – the absentee list was long at times.
Matthew names his list of errors “You have to question Bierhoff”
That set Fortuna back decisively. Now it’s uphill again. If Thioune gets the rudder torn around with a complete squad, Düsseldorf can still have a serious say in the promotion fight in 2023…
Tanaka on the bench
In the sensational 2-1 win over Germany, Fortuna’s Japanese Ao Tanaka (24) was still in the starting XI at the World Cup. In the surprising 1-0 draw against Costa Rica, the man from Düsseldorf sat on the bench the whole time.
