Bad news from the training camp of 1. FC Bocholt: The regional league club will have to do without a new signing for the time being.

1. FC Bocholt has strengthened its squad during the summer break and is among the favorites for the upcoming regional league season, as recently shown by a large forecasting survey of all coaches.

However, Bocholt’s team manager and managing director Christopher Schorch will have to do without one of the promising new signings for the time being. Center back Jeff Mensah has suffered a shoulder injury and will be out for an extended period. The club expects him to be sidelined for around six weeks. The incident occurred during the FCB’s training camp in Delden, Netherlands, at the start of the week. Mensah landed awkwardly on his shoulder after a tackle and had to abandon the session. Bocholt did not provide a detailed diagnosis. It looks like Mensah will not be fit in time for the start of the season. The ball will be rolling again in the Regionalliga West from the last weekend in July, but the schedule is not yet available.

The club will also have to do without Mensah this coming weekend. After returning from training camp, a highlight friendly against FC Schalke 04 is on the agenda. On Saturday (5 p.m., RS live ticker), the second division team from Gelsenkirchen will visit Hünting for a 120-minute match. According to the club, 4,999 spectators are expected to attend.

The 23-year-old Mensah was one of the top performers for surprise team Sportfreunde Lotte last season and is expected to fill this role in Bocholt as well.

In addition to the 1.90-meter-tall defender, FCB signed Stipe Batarilo, Arnold Budimbu (both Fortuna Cologne), Patrick Kurzen (SV Rödinghausen), and Maximilian Jansen (FC Homburg). Paul Grave (VfL Bochum) and Haakon Pomorin (SC Velbert) are also coming to Bocholt. In addition, the club has promoted talented players Noah Michaels and Linus Olthoff from its own U19 team to the regional league team.