Kramer guarantees Greiml starting XI place against Leverkusen
Schalke 04 trainer Frank Kramer left no doubt that Leo Greiml will start alongside Maya Yoshida in this weekend's Bundesliga fixture against Leverkusen.
The horrible injury news coming out of Gelsenkirchen this week leaves Frank Kramer and die Königsblauen without on of their most reliable offensive sparks and the talented central defender they had hoped would serve as their rock during what shapes up to be a tough battle to remain in the top flight. When Sepp van den Berg had to exit last Sunday's match, the club's first official signing ahead of the current campaign had to step in.
S04 trainer Kramer declared himself impressed with the work of Austrian youth international Leo Greiml off the bench against Augsburg. The club gaffer did discuss the remote possibility of eventually using right-back Henning Matriciani or even defensive midfielder Alex Kral as back-ups for the center-halve position. For now, however, the starting spot belongs to Greiml.
"Leo has not had such an easy path," Kramer noted when discussing the player at Thursday's press conference, "He arrived here with an [ACL] injury and has clawed his way back up through through hard work. Through games with the reserves, he's gotten back bit-by-bit. It's simply his turn. He's doing really well and has a lot of energy. He just earned it."