FC Schalke 04 needs a new central defender after Leo Greiml’s serious injury. S04 sporting director Peter Knäbel hinted at a timely move at the opening of the season.

Leo Greiml ruptured his cruciate ligament on Saturday evening in the last test match against Twente Enschede (2:2) before the Bundesliga opener on Friday (8.30pm) at Hamburger SV. This increases the pressure on sporting director André Hechelmann to present a new centre-back to coach Thomas Reis as soon as possible.

That was planned anyway, but is now more important than ever. “Leo Greiml has torn his cruciate ligament. That’s bitter for him because it’s the knee where he’s had an injury before,” Knäbel said. “Of course we know that we have to do something there. We are working on it.”

He added, however, that the team did not want to act headlong and deviate from its chosen path. “We have already put the pressure on ourselves in this matter beforehand,” explained Schalke’s spot director Peter Knäbel at the opening of the FC Schalke 04 season on Sunday.

Ibrahima Cissé was substituted for Greiml as early as the 7th minute, and he then played with Marcin Kaminski in central defence. “You could also see that Ibrahima Cissé is a real alternative. I think the Africa Cup did him a lot of good,” praised Knäbel. “He was not in the team of the tournament without reason. It was also good to have extended the contract with Marcin Kaminski. In that respect, the two measures make up for it a bit. But clearly something still has to happen. And it will. “

Still struggling to reach an agreement with a losing club

Peter knäbel

It is possible that Schalke will even bring in two central defenders. The furthest they are said to be in the matter of Timo Baumgartl. It is only with PSV Eindhoven that they are said to not yet be in agreement regarding the termination of the contract and the conditions. “There is still a problem with reaching an agreement with the club that is selling the player. Of course, we always want to get the best conditions for FC Schalke 04, which is why it is still taking time,” confirmed Knäbel.

Free without confirming Baumgartl’s name. “I don’t make any predictions, because then someone else will suddenly come along from somewhere. Anything can happen in the transfer business,” Knäbel explained. “But we know that we need something. That became more obvious yesterday. And that’s what we will do.”

Will Thomas Reis be able to look forward to a new player by the time of the game at HSV? “There are never any guarantees in the transfer business, but I’m very positive that it will work out,” he said, hinting at the possibility of a timely completion.