This is truly bitter news from VfB Stuttgart: While center back Ameen Al-Dakhil made his debut in the starting lineup, his counterpart is out again.

In VfB Stuttgart’s 1-1 draw in a friendly against second division side SSV Ulm 1846 Fußball, Ameen Al-Dakhil and Anthony Rouault formed the central defensive duo. Unfortunately, it is out of the question that Dan-Axel Zagadou will be joining them in the future.

The former BVB player is being mercilessly pursued by injury. At the end of January 2024, Zagadou, who already has a long injury record, suffered a cruciate ligament rupture. The 25-year-old center back recovered from this, but then naturally fell behind in training.

In recent weeks, he had been getting closer to a return and was also taking part in team training. Then came the shock at the end of September: Zagadou suffered an injury to his lateral ligament. On Wednesday, October 9, the 25-year-old underwent surgery on his knee and will be out for several months. This was announced by his home club VfB Stuttgart.

“Dan-Axel was on his way back to his old strength, so this setback is all the more bitter for him and, of course, for us. At the same time, we firmly believe that Daxo will overcome this challenge with his great fighting spirit. We will give him all the support he needs,” said Stuttgart’s sporting director Fabian Wohlgemuth.

Zagadou comes from the Paris Saint-Germain youth academy and, at 6’5”, has the ideal height for a center back. His talent is undisputed, but so is his susceptibility to injury.

He joined Borussia Dortmund for the 2017/18 season. A selection of the injuries he has suffered since then includes a torn muscle bundle and a torn ligament in his knee, as well as COVID-19. Zagadou would have played many more games during his time at BVB alone, which ended with his contract expiring in the summer of 2022, had he remained fit.

The center back made 92 appearances for Borussia Dortmund in five years, plus four for the second team. He also played 45 games for VfB Stuttgart. Here, too, the number would certainly have been significantly higher if Zagadou had remained fit. Now he is fighting for his comeback once again.