Mark Uth fit in time to face source of early-season trauma
Soon-to-be relegated Bundesliga club FC Schalke 04 may at least take some solace in the fact that their long lists of injuries are clearing up in time for Sunday's match against Augsburg.
For one player, a fixture against the Fuggerstädter comes attached with a rather abhorrent flashback.
For one player, a fixture against the Fuggerstädter comes attached with a rather abhorrent flashback.
| Mark Uth. | Photo: Sandro Halank, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 |
Grammozis once again has arguably his most creative offensive player fit as well. Mark Uth returns from a muscle fiber tear incurred in February. Whether or not coach and player are prepared to push aside some traumatic memories, however, remains to be seen.
It has been, to put it mildly, a consistently tumultuous campaign for the 29-year-old. Uth began the season as one of the many players on the Schalke roster who observably looked frustrated to be back in royal blue. The Köln native wished to remain at his hometown club after spending the first half of 2020 there.
The infamous post-match interview following a November loss to Wolfsburg went viral across the globe. Uth made clear that the state of his current club left him close to tears. Then came the unforgettable scenes at the WWK Arena. Uth lay motionless on the pitch for a full ten minutes after a horrific head collision. He later had to watch his team blow the game by conceding a late goal from his hospital bed.
Grammozis happened to be watching that Manuel Baum coached game. At a Friday press round up, the trainer conceded that he "had to look away" after Uth dropped listless to the pitch following an aerial challenge with Felix Udoukhai. The Königsblauen gaffer nevertheless appeared to have no qualms or superstitions about inserting Uth back into the lineup to face Udoukhai directly again. Grammozis indicated that Uth looked "fully stable" in team training.
Although it no longer appears as if red;egastion can be averted, die Knappen find themselves in desperate need of a small moral victory at the Veltins Arena on Sunday. Still another ignominious record threatens them. Having gone five fixtures without a goal on home turf, Schalke can tie Freiburg (2009/10) and Stuttgart (2014/15) for the longest league home goalless streak.
At the presser, Grammozis mostly deflected questions about his very public disappointment with Shkodran Mustafi, simply lauding the player's effort during the training week and leaving a possible return to the XI open.
