Assan Ouedraogo has been missing the royal blues for three and a half months. Now he is set to return. Perhaps as early as the away game at 1. FC Magdeburg?

Schalke’s mega-talent Assan Ouedraogo watched the important home win against SV Wehen Wiesbaden from the stands. After the game, he also passed by the mixed zone together with Jimmy Kaparos and Steven van der Sloot.

Since last Tuesday, Ouedraogo has been training with the team again. He has not yet taken part in all the sessions, but is to be slowly introduced to them again. The return of the S04 jewel with the unusual abilities is eagerly awaited by many fans. With his playful ease, Ouedraogo embodies an element that is not found in the Schalke game.

It is not without reason that clubs such as RB Leipzig, Eintracht Frankfurt and FC Bayern Munich are pursuing the Knappenschmiede graduate. On November 15 of last year, he was injured in the German U17 national team’s World Cup match against New Zealand. He suffered a syndesmosis ligament tear in his ankle.

He had already missed out on the U17 World Cup due to a thigh injury and went into the tournament with a knock. He played his last game for S04 at the end of October in the 3-2 win against Hannover 96.

The plan is to fully reintegrate the 17-year-old into training later this week. How he copes with the strain will play a major role in this. So far, it seems to be going well. He is doing well, Ouedraogo confirmed to Forecasting after the game against Wiesbaden. However, he was unable to say whether he would be ready in time for the next relegation battle against 1. FC Magdeburg this Saturday.

Prognosis: Even if Ouedraogo is able to fully participate in team training next week, the difficult away game will come too soon for him. A return to the squad for the upcoming home game against league leaders FC St. Pauli is more realistic.