German striker Werner excluded from the 2022 World Cup
German football club RB Leipzig announced on Thursday the absence of its international striker Timo Werner from the World Cup finals in Qatar due to an injury to his left ankle.
Werner was injured Wednesday in the 13th minute of his team's match against its Ukrainian host Shakhtar Donetsk (4-0) in Warsaw in the last sixth round of the Champions League group stage, through which he booked his ticket to the final price.
Werner's withdrawal is considered bad news for German coach Hansi Flick, who is preparing to announce the final squad of 26 players for the global wedding scheduled for the period between November 20 and December 18.
Werner was injured after a strong intervention by the captain of the Ukrainian team, Taras Stepanenko, and then tried to continue playing without success, before he was replaced in the 19th minute by Swedish striker Emil Forsberg.
Flick commented on Werner's withdrawal, saying, "This news is very bitter. For Timo personally, it hurts me, because he will be denied participation in the World Cup that he certainly wanted to play in. But above all for the national team, the absence of Timo is a huge loss."
"We all wish him a recovery as soon as possible," he added.
"The tests he underwent today in Leipzig showed that he unfortunately ruptured the ligament in his left ankle, and therefore he will be absent for the rest of 2022," Leipzig, the sixth in the Bundesliga, said in a statement.
The 26-year-old scored 24 goals in 55 international matches for Germany, including five during the Qatar World Cup qualifiers.
Werner returned to Leipzig this summer after a disappointing experience with Chelsea, and so far this season has scored nine goals in various competitions (4 in the league, 3 in the local cup and two goals in the Champions League).
Germany, the four-time world champion and seeking to equal the record recorded in the name of Brazil (5 titles), begins its campaign against Japan on November 23 in Al-Rayyan, in the fifth group competition, which includes Spain and Costa Rica.
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