Leo Greiml had a lot of bad luck with injuries at Schalke. He now plays in the Netherlands, where he has just fought his way back into the lineup. On the field, however, things aren’t looking good.

NAC Breda is a proud, historic club in the Netherlands. Founded in 1912, the Black-and-Yellows managed to avoid relegation last season as a newly promoted team.

With 29 appearances and two goals, center back Leo Greiml played his part in that success. After difficult years at Schalke, the now 24-year-old center back has fought his way into the starting lineup in the Netherlands.

But injury woes caught up with him again this season. After missing the start of the season with a shoulder injury, he fought his way back into the lineup. Greiml was a starter starting from the fourth matchday before getting injured again after a little over two months.

This time it was his foot. Greiml was sidelined for a good two and a half months, from early November to mid-January of this year. But Greiml has proven to be resilient. Since his comeback on Matchday 19, he has started in all four possible league matches.

This could also be due to the fact that NAC Breda desperately needs defensive stability. While 36 goals conceded in 22 games isn’t a bad statistic, 23 goals scored certainly is. Tellingly, in Greiml’s comeback match against NEC Nijmegen in January, Breda scored three goals—but also conceded four.

With 16 points, Greiml’s team is currently in last place. Breda is just one point behind 16th-place Telstar, which, as things stand, is likely to participate in relegation playoffs against second-division teams. FC Volendam, in 15th place—the first non-relegation spot—is already five points ahead.

Greiml has already suffered two cruciate ligament tears

Austrian Leo Greiml learned to play soccer at his hometown club SV Horn and in the youth ranks of AKA St. Pölten. In the summer of 2018, he moved to Rapid Vienna II. Just one year later, he was already playing for the first team. He played 57 games for Rapid over three years, but also suffered a cruciate ligament tear during the 2021–22 season. In the summer of 2022, he transferred to FC Schalke 04 on a free transfer.

However, Greiml never really got going there. In two years, the center back made just eight appearances for the first team. Instead, he first suffered a meniscus injury and then, in the 2023/24 season, his second cruciate ligament tear.

In the summer of 2024, he then moved to Dutch first-division club NAC Breda, where things are going much better for him.