A number of players out injured for the Leverkusen match

The long injury list at Schalke has continued to grow, with Salif Sane the latest casualty. The Senegal international suffered a muscle strain, which means he won’t feature again this season. Fellow centre-backs, Matija Nastasic (muscular problem) and Jean-Clair Todibo (ankle) are also unavailable to face Leverkusen, while Benjamin Stambouli still isn’t an option according to David Wagner, although he has returned to team training.

Quartett Suat Serdar (partial ligament tear in his left knee), Amine Harit (ligament), Guido Burgstaller (LCL) and captain Omar Mascarell (adductor) will all also miss Sunday’s match. Mascarell has undergone an operation after the previous conservative treatment hadn’t had the desired effect. Rabbi Matondo is also a doubt with an adductor problem, and the Welshman has missed training in recent days.

McKennie back after suspension

One positive is that Weston McKennie will be back in the squad after missing the 1-1 draw against Union following a suspension for five yellow cards.

Can Bozdogan and Malick Thiaw from the U19s will again be in the squad, having been on the bench in the capital. “The lads are heavily involved in training,” praised Wagner. The coach also revealed that they are fairly likely to feature in the coming games.

Leverkusen on a roll

Bayer 04 Leverkusen have been the third-best side in 2020. They will travel to Gelsenkirchen full of confidence after sealing their place in the DFB-Pokal final on Wednesday with a 3-0 win at 1. FC Saarbrücken. “Peter Bosz and his team are doing an amazing job,” commented Wagner.

“Leverkusen play a great style of football. Watching them is really enjoyable. They’ve got some great players and they play as a team,” analysed Wagner. The head coach is also well aware of how difficult the game will be, although he promised his side want to be successful and will give 100%.