David Wagner: Finding solutions, instead of complaining

Injuries had sidelined both Omar Mascarell and Benjamin Stambouli earlier this season, and the pair have since been joined by two of their teammates. Amine Harit picked up an injury on the first matchday after the enforced break, and Suat Serder suffered a season-ending injury last time out. The Germany international has been sidelined by a partial ligament tear in his left knee that he picked up against Augsburg. „Suat will be out for the next three to four mouths,“ said Wager. „It’s tough news for us, as it is with any injury.“

Kabak could return to the starting line-up

However, the coach does not want to waste any time complaining. „We need to find solutions for how to compensate for these injuries,“ he said. He can draw positives from Jean-Clair Todibo’s progress. After suffering an ankle injury in the Revierderby, the Frenchman has returned to team training.

Weston McKennie was also able to take part in the sessions with no difficulties. Ozan Kabak returned to the squad for the first time as an unused substitute against Augsburg, and is an option to feature once more. The Turkey international had suffered a vertebrae injury at the end of February.

It remains to be seen if the two centre-backs will be part of the starting line-up against Fortuna. One thing, however, is clear: the Royal Blues are looking to turn things around by picking up a strong result in Düsseldorf. „Our current situation is anything but satisfying. We are all working hard in order to finally be able to celebrate a win again.“ said the coach. In order to do so, it’s important to „avoid those individual mistakes that have been causing us to concede over the past weeks. If we don’t, it will be difficult to win games.“