These are the games for which LASK has signed Jerome Boateng: On Saturday Salzburg will come to Linz in the Bundesliga (7.30 p.m.), on Thursday FCSB Bucharest will be the opponent in the first leg of the Europa League play-off (7 p.m.). So far, the 35-year-old German has only been a spectator due to groin problems. Will he be playing for LASK for the first time against Salzburg?
Boateng has completed his second full week of training, and the defender is no longer on the list of absentees at LASK. In the end, it is also down to the defender himself. “I trust him and his own assessment,” explained coach Thomas Darazs recently. “Jerome has had a long career. Like many good players, he is certainly a bit more sensitive in the way he feels his body, how he listens to his body, and perceives more than players who are more clumsy and not as talented.”
The medical department also has a say in the decision-making process as to when the defender will start. The number of appearances in previous seasons is taken into account. Darazs: “How many games, how much strain has he endured?” The goal is not a short-term debut, but “that he gets to play regularly.” The same applies as with the waiting period for Maximilian Entrup: “You have all the time in the world. It’s better to be ten days too many than a few days too early.”
Double endurance test
The ÖFB team striker needs patience due to his knee pain, while Boateng could make his LASK debut as early as Saturday. Whether with or without the new signing, the game against Salzburg is a double test for LASK. “We expect a very demanding game against a team that claims to be the best in Austria,” said Darazs. “The game will give us a good report on where we are in our development.” At the same time, it is the dress rehearsal for the Europa League. Valon Berisha will miss it due to injury.
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