Heartbreak at the World Cup as Bayern Munich star gets injured and is quickly replaced
Bayern Munich star Lennart Karl shared a heartfelt message after sadly being ruled out of the World Cup due to a serious injury.
The 18-year-old had an amazing breakthrough season with Bayern, scoring nine goals and providing eight assists in 39 games, while helping the team win both the Bundesliga and DFB Pokal in his first pro season.
His rise continued as he quickly earned a spot on Germany’s senior team and was included in coach Julian Nagelsmann’s 26-man World Cup squad.
But just before a friendly match against co-host USA, Karl got injured during the final training session. He had played and assisted a goal in Germany’s win over Finland on Sunday, but then suffered a thigh tear in Chicago and had to go to the hospital.
The German Football Association announced he would miss the tournament. Nagelsmann said, “I feel really sorry for Lenny. It’s a huge blow for him and all of us. The only small comfort is that he’s young and has many tournaments ahead. We would have loved to have him with the team.”
Karl then spoke out, sharing how painful it is to miss such a big opportunity right before his first World Cup. Despite this, he sent good wishes to his teammates.
“I don’t even know where to start, but it hurts deeply to miss the biggest tournament,” Karl wrote on Instagram, with a blacked-out photo of him lying on the field.
“I did everything to be ready for the World Cup. Unfortunately, injuries happen at the worst times.
I wish my team the best of luck and will support them every minute!
I promise I’ll come back stronger. Thank you for all the kind messages. Good luck @dfb_team.”
Although squads had to be named before the tournament, FIFA allows teams to replace injured players. Nagelsmann had until June 13, a day before Germany’s first game against Curacao, to name a replacement.
He acted quickly, bringing in RB Leipzig’s Assan Ouedraogo, who made his debut for Germany last November.
Nagelsmann said, “With Assan Ouedraogo, we now have a player who, like Lenny, started strongly with us. He’s very talented and we expect him to play with confidence and freedom.”
Germany will face the USA at Soldier Field on Saturday, then open their Group E games against Curacao in Houston on June 14. They will also play Ivory Coast in Toronto and Ecuador in New Jersey.