Derry Murkin threatens to miss Schalke 04 for longer. But he is not the only problem child. Other full-backs are unable to train.
On Friday evening in Elversberg, the first Schalke 04 professionals were already talking about the upcoming home game against Fortuna Düsseldorf this Saturday (20:30/Sky).
A win against the promotion hopefuls would see the Gelsenkirchen side take a huge step towards securing their place in the league. Although Schalke are only outsiders in the table against the third-placed Rhinelanders, optimism prevails at Berger Feld. “In our current form, we are very, very difficult to beat,” said midfielder Ron Schallenberg.
What gives the midfielder hope? The home strength. Schalke have picked up 27 of their 36 points at home, which puts them seventh in the home table. “Fortuna are coming to our arena – it won’t be easy for them. We will certainly give our all.”
FC St. Pauli only found out at the beginning of March that Schalke can also upset the league’s top teams at home. The Kiez team surprisingly lost 3:1 in Gelsenkirchen. S04 has now been unbeaten in six home games.
Schalke: Ouwejan and Matriciani also missing from training
However, Schalke have personnel problems ahead of the match against Fortuna – especially in the full-back positions. Henning Matriciani (24, ill), Cedric Brunner (30, knee complaints), Thomas Ouwejan (27, only athletics training due to minor complaints) and Derry Murkin (24) were all missing from training at the start of the week. The latter professional may even face a longer break. Examination results are to be published on Tuesday. Schalke did not want to give any details about the injury when asked.
However, it is a fact that Derry Murkin was substituted with an injury during the 1:1 draw in Elversberg. At the break, the Englishman was replaced by striker Keke Topp. There is at least one question mark over Murkin’s involvement against Düsseldorf.
The situation is similar for Assan Ouédraogo. The 17-year-old midfielder is still unable to train with the team. In the morning, he worked individually with an athletics trainer on the pitch. Muscular problems have already prevented him from playing against Nuremberg (2-0) and Elversberg. It is likely to be tight again until the Düsseldorf game