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Augsburg’s French playmaker, Alexis Claude-Maurice, is set to miss the Fuggerstädter’s Bundesliga opener against Freiburg on Saturday, as kicker reports.
Augsburg’s No. 20 sustained an ankle injury in the Bavarian side’s final pre-season match of their preparation campaign in Austria against English outfit Crystal Palace back on 1 August. Brought down by former Eintracht man Daichi Kamada almost immediately after the whistle was blown to commence the second half, Claude-Maurice is yet to return to full-squad training and may also be a doubt for Augsburg’s first home game of the upcoming campaign against Bayern Munich.
His absence is sure to be a blow for new Augsburg head coach Sandro Wagner. The Frenchman was one of the Fuggerstädter’s standout players from last season – something which Wagner had taken in his stride in pre-season, opting to field a double-pivot of No. 10s in Claude-Maurice and Mert Kömür.
In Claude-Maurice’s absence, there are two likely alternatives for Wagner. The first: to deploy summer signing Elias Saad alongside Kömür to keep the same system. The second (and more likely): to line-up with Phillip Tietz and Steve Mounié as a strike partnership.
Wagner opted for the latter in Augsburg’s 2-0 DFB Cup win at Halle last weekend and therefore may subscribe to the ‘if it ain’t broke’ adage. Samuel Essende, who came on as a substitute to score the second that day, will not be available for selection, however, as he serves a three-game suspension for a red card acquired on the final day of last season.
GGFN | Sam Carey
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