Germany’s hopes of securing a victory in their upcoming Nations League clash with the Netherlands have taken a hit as star forward Niclas Fuellkrug has been ruled out due to an Achilles tendon strain. The German Football Association (DFB) confirmed the news before the match, revealing that Fuellkrug left the team’s training camp on Tuesday afternoon.
The 31-year-old, who made a high-profile transfer to Premier League side West Ham from Borussia Dortmund in the summer, had been a key player for Germany. He was handed a rare starting role in Saturday’s impressive 5-0 win over Hungary in Duesseldorf, where he opened the scoring. Fuellkrug, a prolific goalscorer with 14 goals in 22 appearances for Germany since his international debut in 2022, had initially complained of a calf issue during the match against Hungary.
The news of Fuellkrug’s injury comes as a blow to Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann, who had already expressed concern about the striker’s availability for the match. Fuellkrug, despite his recent injury, had played 15 minutes in a training session on Monday, but ultimately his condition did not improve enough for him to feature in the match against the Netherlands.
Nagelsmann is now likely to turn to Kai Havertz, the Arsenal forward, to fill the void left by Fuellkrug. Havertz is a familiar face in the center-forward role, having started all five of Germany’s matches at Euro 2024. He was deployed as an attacking midfielder against Hungary, taking the place of retired international captain Ilkay Gundogan.
Germany’s recent form has been impressive, with only one loss since November 2023, which came against eventual Euro 2024 champions Spain in the quarterfinals. The team will be looking to continue their winning momentum against the Netherlands, despite the absence of their key striker.
