Jürgen Klopp Faces Injury Concerns Ahead of First Germany Squad
Jürgen Klopp’s first Germany squad is already under strain before it has even been named.
The new national team coach, preparing for Nations League games against the Netherlands, Greece and Serbia, is facing the prospect of being without one of the country’s brightest young midfielders. Assan Ouédraogo, the highly rated Leipzig talent, suffered a fresh shoulder injury during his club’s 5-0 demolition of Hamburg on Sunday.
He began the game, but his afternoon ended abruptly. After a collision with Albert Grønbæk, the 20-year-old tried to carry on, then admitted defeat and left the pitch in the 35th minute. The concern around him was immediate and obvious.
The timing could hardly be more brutal. Klopp will announce his first Germany squad next Thursday, a moment that was expected to mark a new era and, for players like Ouédraogo, a potential gateway into it. Instead, Leipzig are bracing themselves.
Inside the club, there is real fear this is not just a knock. The issue may be linked to the same shoulder problem that ruled Ouédraogo out for the whole of last August, raising the spectre of another lengthy absence just as his season was beginning to build.
Leipzig manager Martín Demichelis did not hide his worry. “I think it's the same injury. Things don't look promising. We need him. He is an amazing talent, both for Germany and for our club," he said, underlining both the player’s importance and the scale of the potential setback.
The story of Ouédraogo’s time at Leipzig so far has been as much about the treatment room as the pitch. Since joining the club in 2024, injuries have stalked his progress. He has already spent more than 380 days sidelined, a staggering figure for a player of his age and ambition, and now he may be forced out again for several weeks.
For Klopp, who wants energy, intensity and freshness in his first Germany squad, losing a midfielder of Ouédraogo’s profile would be a sharp early reminder of international management’s cruellest constant: you can plan everything, except who stays fit.
