McKennie sidelined with dislocated shoulder
Schalke 04 are set to lose the services of midfielder Weston McKennie for some time after the USA international dislocated his shoulder during their 1-0 win over Eintracht Frankfurt on Sunday.
The 21-year-old was making his third start in the centre-back position this season as part of a back three in David Wagner’s starting lineup. This was a result of the Royal Blues having an injury crisis in defence, with Salif Sane (knee), Matija Nastasic (knee) and Benjamin Stambouli (metatarsal) all in the treatment room.
McKinnie only lasted 13 minutes on the field at the Veltins-Arena this past weekend before he was stretchered off following an aerial due with Frankfurt striker Bas Dost.
The makeshift defender was replaced by 19-year-old Juan Miranda, making his Bundesliga debut during the first of his two-year loan deal from FC Barcelona.
Incredibly, the hosts were able to hold out the Eagles for the full 90 minutes, with Benito Raman scoring the game’s only goal seven minutes into the second half. In fact, Wagner’s side were handicapped further when goalkeeper Alexander Nübel was dismissed midway through the second half.
Schalke finished the game with Markus Schubert in goal and a back three consisting of Ozan Kabak, Bastian Oczipka and Miranda. The visitors to Gelsenkirchen fired in 18 shots over the course of the game, but only three of these were on target.
Speaking after the game, David Wagner was able to confirm that Weston McKennie visited hospital with a dislocated shoulder, though the head coach was unable to say whether or not he would need surgery. He said that “he will definitely be out for a while”.
#Wagner on @WMckennie: "Weston has dislocated his shoulder and is in hospital right now. We don't yet know if he'll need an operation. He will definitely be out for a while."
#s04 | #S04SGE pic.twitter.com/db6XpU7kLO
— FC Schalke 04 (@s04_en) December 15, 2019
Weston McKennie has made 13 Bundesliga appearances for Schalke so far this season, with 10 of those in the starting lineup. Sunday’s victory moves them up to fourth in the table ahead of a midweek trip to VfL Wolfsburg.