Lena Oberdorf injured: DFB star gives all-clear after big scare

DFB star awaits diagnosis
Oberdorf gives all-clear after major shock

05.06.2024, 17:42

A few weeks before the Olympic Games, national coach Horst Hrubesch is breathing a sigh of relief. Acting captain Lena Oberdorf is not seriously injured. After the successful European Championship qualification, the German women’s football team now has some time to recover.

Lena Oberdorf and Horst Hrubesch’s DFB women were initially shocked, but the next day the midfield star gave the all-clear. “I would have imagined my first game as a stand-in captain to be completely different, but sometimes there are days like that, it’s not that bad,” wrote the 22-year-old on Instagram after she left the pitch early in tears during the 3-1 win in Poland with a calf injury. Oberdorf caused a sigh of relief in the national team’s environment. Nevertheless, the German women’s footballers went on holiday with mixed feelings after their early participation in the European Championship.

“Due to a painful blow to the left calf,” as the DFB announced, Oberdorf initially remained lying on the pitch in the 37th minute of her 50th international match and her first game as captain. Supported by two of her coaches, she limped off the pitch and the 22-year-old had to be carried into the dressing room shortly afterwards.

An exact diagnosis is still pending. Oberdorf returned to VfL Wolfsburg for examinations on Wednesday, where she is under contract until the end of the month. The European runner-up will play for FC Bayern Munich in the new season.

A few weeks before the Olympic Games, a longer absence of Oberdorf would have been very bitter for the German team. “Now we’ll see. I hope that there is nothing serious,” said national coach Hrubesch after the final whistle. It is clear that Oberdorf will miss the next qualifying match against Iceland on July 12th due to her second yellow card. The European runner-up had received the warning for the very tackle that caused the calf problem. “Incomprehensible,” said Hrubesch about the yellow card, “even from the bench you could see that the Pole had really stepped on her foot.”

Hrubesch expects hardship cases in the Olympic squad

Aside from the concerns about the midfielder, the match in Poland once again revealed starting difficulties and finishing weaknesses. Hrubesch was also annoyed by his team’s poor utilization of opportunities, and the collective sleepiness when Dominika Grabowska scored the 0:1: “We again helped with the goal we conceded at the beginning,” he complained. Goals from Lea Schüller and Klara Bühl only brought about the turnaround after the break.

DFB sports director Nia Künzer combined her criticism with praise: “What we had planned, perhaps not to fall behind early on, didn’t work. But it is really a quality that distinguishes the team, to keep coming back and not to give up.” Especially since after four wins from four qualifying games – including three wins after falling behind – the ticket for the 2025 tournament in Switzerland has been booked. That was “really a success,” said Künzer: “Now it’s really about everyone being able to recover a bit.” With “a certain freshness of mind,” they want to go into the last European Championship qualifying phase, which can now be fully used as Olympic preparation.

This includes the games on July 12th in Iceland and on July 16th in Hanover against Austria. For Hrubesch, the hot phase begins before the Olympics start on July 25th against World Cup fourth-place Australia. The other opponents in the preliminary round are record world champions USA (July 28th) and Zambia (July 31st). Since only two goalkeepers and 16 field players are allowed in the squad, there is a risk of hardship. “I’m only allowed to take 18 with me, that’s the big problem,” explained Hrubesch after the Poland game.