Freiburg's Schuster to miss group stage finale

SC Freiburg will have to do without captain Julian Schuster for the rest of their UEFA Europa League Group H campaign after the midfielder was ruled out for six weeks with a stress fracture of the metatarsus.

Schuster, 28, sat out his side's 3-1 home defeat by local rivals VfB Stuttgart at the weekend and will remain sidelined until the winter break. This keeps him out of Freiburg's crucial Group H game at FC Slovan Liberec on matchday five and their concluding fixture against Sevilla FC. The skipper scored in the 2-2 draw with Liberec on matchday one but Freiburg have yet to secure maximum points in the group stage, a feat they must achieve in the Czech Republic on 28 November to have any chance of reaching the round of 32.