St. Pauli lose Saad to ankle ligament injury
Brought back down to earth by FSV Mainz 05 over the weekend, newly promoted Bundesliga side FC St. Pauli will now have to do without their leading goal-scorer for a month or more. German-Tunisian winger Elias Saad - whose unlikely story and rise has captivated many in German footballing circles over the last few weeks - tore an ankle ligament in Saturday night's loss. The 24-year-old will be out for a month or more.
Saad joined Hamburg's "Kiezkicker" in December of 2022 from fourth-tier FC Eintracht Norderstedt 03 in December of 2022. He scored nine goals for St. Pauli in the second division, but was not widely considered to be a candidate for the starting XI after Pauli progressed to the next level. Saad proved many a critic wrong with an inspired performance against Leipzig on match-day four and a brace against Freiburg the following week.