Image credit: Getty
Former world champion Germany has suffered an injury setback ahead of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. On Thursday night, striker Timo Werner was ruled out of the global event, which starts this month, with an ankle ligament tear. He suffered it during RB Leipzig's UEFA Champions League (UCL) game against Shakhtar Donetsk away from home on Wednesday after Taras Stepanenko brought him down. At the same time, Emil Forsberg replaced him for the remainder of the tie.
Image credit: Wikimedia Commons
In a statement, Leipzig stated, "Timo Werner suffered an ankle injury last night in the win over Shakhtar Donetsk. Scans today in Leipzig showed that he has unfortunately torn the syndesmosis ligament in his left ankle and will therefore be out for the rest of 2022." He moved to the club from English giants Chelsea this summer.
FOLLOW QATAR WORLD CUP 2022 UPDATES HERE
Image credit: Wikimedia Commons
Since then, Werner has made a considerable impact for Leipzig, scoring nine goals in 16 contests across competitions. Overall, he has 142 goals in 368 career club matches. For Germany, he has 24 from 55, while he has three from eight this year. The Die Mannschaft plays its opening WC game against Japan on November 23, while it would be national coach Hansi Flick's maiden WC assignment since taking over the reins from Joachim Low.