Hansi Flick confirmed that Nico Schlotterbeck’s injury, which resulted in his absence from the German national team’s next match, is not a severe one, and he expects the defender to be available for Borussia Dortmund’s match against Bayern Munich.
Although Nico Schlotterbeck played in Germany’s 2-0 victory against Peru last week, he will miss Tuesday’s friendly match against Belgium in Cologne due to a thigh injury.
Despite this setback, the 23-year-old defender, who has played in the most games (36) and started the most games (33) of any Borussia Dortmund player this season, is anticipated to be fit for the team’s away match against Bayern on Saturday.
“We didn’t want to take any risks with him,” Flick told reporters. “It’s nothing serious and in two or three days he’ll be back on the pitch.”
Flick hails Belgium as a ‘different caliber’ of an opponent
Borussia Dortmund, who are at the top of the Bundesliga standings, have a one-point advantage over Bayern Munich, who dismissed Julian Nagelsmann and hired Thomas Tuchel as his replacement last week
Domenico Tedesco’s era as Belgium’s coach started with a 3-0 victory over Sweden in the Euro 2024 qualifiers, with Romelu Lukaku scoring a hat-trick in Stockholm.
The Belgian team is currently undergoing a transitional phase, as some of their ‘Golden Generation’ players are retiring following their early exit from the World Cup.
According to Germany’s head coach Flick, the team ranked fourth in the world is expected to offer more resistance than Peru.
He added: “We started the new year with a win, but in Belgium, we have an opponent of a different caliber.
“They have a new coach and a new spirit. You can see immediately they have outstanding footballers in their ranks.
“They are able to defend compactly, but they are also convincing in an attacking sense when they have possession of the ball. They scored brilliant goals against Sweden.
“Even under pressure they always find good solutions. In terms of football, they are one of the best teams and will be a good opponent for us to measure ourselves against.”
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