At least five players from Bundesliga club RB Leipzig will not be in the squad for the DFB Cup match at Rot-Weiss Essen on Saturday (3.30pm/Sky). Yussuf Poulsen is not yet allowed to play due to a sending-off in last season's second-round exit at VfL Wolfsburg, while Austrian international Xaver Schlager is out for a longer period of time due to a cruciate ligament rupture.
Coach Marco Rose will also have to do without Christoph Baumgartner, new signing Assan Ouédraogo and El Chadaille Bitshiabu, who were injured in preparation. Baumgartner and Bitshiabu are already back in individual training and may be able to return to team training next week.
Ouédraogo unlikely to return until mid-September
The situation is more complicated for Ouédraogo. The midfielder, who joined from FC Schalke, injured his knee in the test match against Aston Villa and will probably not be available again until September. A corresponding report in the "Bild" newspaper is consistent with dpa information.
Castello Lukeba, who was still involved in the Olympic soccer tournament until last Friday, has since returned to Leipzig. The silver medal winner from France could be part of the squad for the Essen game, but it remains to be seen whether he will be in the starting eleven.
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