During a press conference, RB Leipzig head coach Marco Rose has confirmed that both Christopher Nkunku and Timo Werner are both missing for their DFB Pokal match against Hamburg SV on Tuesday evening.
Nkunku underwent surgery on his wrist over the weekend and is therefore unavailable for the second-round clash. The Frenchman would be ready to face Augsburg in the Bundesliga this weekend. As for Werner, he is missing the game due to illness. It’s not clear what the illness is or for how long the German international will be missing.
Despite missing two key forwards. Rose was upbeat about his other options ahead of the tie. The Leipzig native explained: “We have lots of good attackers within the side. André Silva is in good form and Emil Forsberg scored! Dominik Szoboszlai contributed with two assists at weekend and Yussuf Poulsen will get more and more game time under his belt. Lots of our boys are capable of impressing up top, but also our defenders are also getting on the score sheet at the moment. We will attack this knockout game and do the most we possibly can to progress to the next round.”
Rose also commented on the current injury situation of the squad and how it’s causing problems along with the congested fixture schedule: “The situation is pushing us to the limit, but it is how it is. We take good care of our boys, they take of themselves. They’re professional in their work and we deal with everything that comes our way and try and make the most out of the situation. We will all try to churn out results. That’s the one thing we’re concentrating on. Everything else is not important at the moment. That fatigue begins as a mental thing and we won’t let that happen!”
Leipzig host 2. Bundesliga side Hamburg tomorrow evening as they continue their DFB Pokal defence.
GGFN | Jamie Allen
