Schober knock prompts Schalke crisis
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
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FC Schalke 04 may be forced to field a 19-year-old goalkeeper in the first leg of their UEFA Cup tie against APOEL FC after second-choice custodian Mathias Schober joined established No1 Manuel Neuer on the injured list.
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Neuer has been unavailable since breaking a bone in his foot on 8 July and now the 32-year-old Schober has been ruled out after tearing muscle fibres in his left calf in training on Monday. "Mathias will definitely be out for several weeks," confirmed team doctor Bernd Brexendorf. Schober has featured in all six of the Gelsenkirchen side's competitive games this season, and replacing him for the weekend derby against BV Borussia Dortmund and next week's UEFA Cup opener in Cyprus is a major headache. Having only just resumed light training, Neuer looks unlikely to play, which leaves two 19-year-olds – Ralf Fährmann and Mohamed Amsif – as the only available goalkeepers.