(Football news) RB Leipzig on Tuesday needed to win their game away at Shakhtar Donetsk to qualify for the UCL Round of 16. Leipzig managed to do that comfortably by dismantling Shakhtar 4-0. Striker Timo Werner however had a very difficult night as he had to be taken off after injuring his ankle. It was later confirmed that the striker would be out of the World Cup. Speaking about the injury, Germany manager Hansi Flick said "This piece of news is extremely bitter, I feel very bad for Timo personally because he will miss the World Cup which he desperately wanted to play in." The absence of Werner will be a huge loss for Germany who are pitted in the group of death with Spain, Japan and Costa Rica
After their win at the 2014 World Cup, Germany's level has dropped down quite a bit. They were eliminated by France in the 2016 Euros semi-final while the 2018 World Cup was a disaster as they were knocked out in the group stage. At the 2020 Euros, they were knocked out by England in the Round of 16. After the Euros their main man Toni Kroos announced his retirement which made their squad considerably weaker and they went on to finish 3rd in their Nations League group behind Italy and Hungry. Now without Werner their chances at the World Cup have become very slim. There are reports in Spain which suggest that the German federation is trying to convince Toni Kroos to come back for the World Cup but that won't be an easy task.
After an underwhelming spell with Chelsea, Werner returned to RB Leipzig where he picked up form immediately. The striker has already scored 6 goals and assisted another 2 this season. Germany still have a wide range of forwards in Thomas Muller, Serge Gnabry, Kai Havertz, Leroy Sane and Jamal Musiala but none of them can offer the pure pace and explosiveness that Werner can. All this is part and parcel of the World Cup being played in November which is in the middle of the season. Son Heung-Min is another player whose World Cup hopes are in danger after recent injury. Players like Diogo Jota, Paul Pogba and N'Golo Kante have already been ruled out while a lot of others are doubtful.
Also read: What could be the reasons for Gerard Pique's shocking retirement?
