Hamburg face up to Jansen absence
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Article summary
Hamburger SV defender Marcell Jansen has been ruled out for four to five weeks after his thigh muscle injury turned out to be more severe than first thought, keeping him out of the start of the side's UEFA Cup campaign.
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Torn muscles
The 22-year-old was hurt during the 2-1 win at FC Energie Cottbus on 5 October that moved Hamburg three points clear at the top of the Bundesliga and was initially ruled out for a fortnight, ruling him out of Germany's current FIFA World Cup qualifiers. A club statement today revealed that he has in fact suffered deeply torn muscle fibres and faces another month on the sidelines, keeping him out of the trip to MŠK Žilina on 23 October when Hamburg open their UEFA Cup Group F campaign.
Absentees
Already missing that match were Romeo Castelen, out for another five months after knee cartilage damage, and Nigel de Jong, who tore knee ligaments on Saturday in the Netherlands' 2-0 win against Iceland, ruling him out until the end of October. AFC Ajax, Aston Villa FC and SK Slavia Praha are also in Hamburg's group.
