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Schalke star center back Salif Sane will miss 3-4 months

By Kevin Parvizi

26 October 2019, North Rhine-Westphalia, Gelsenkirchen: Soccer: Bundesliga, FC Schalke 04 - Borussia Dortmund, 9th matchday in the Veltins Arena. Dortmund's Thorgan Hazard (r) and Schalkes Salif Sane fight for the ball. Photo: Guido Kirchner/dpa - IMPORTANT NOTE: In accordance with the requirements of the DFL Deutsche Fußball Liga or the DFB Deutscher Fußball-Bund, it is prohibited to use or have used photographs taken in the stadium and/or the match in the form of sequence images and/or video-like photo sequences. (Photo by Guido Kirchner/picture alliance via Getty Images)
26 October 2019, North Rhine-Westphalia, Gelsenkirchen: Soccer: Bundesliga, FC Schalke 04 - Borussia Dortmund, 9th matchday in the Veltins Arena. Dortmund's Thorgan Hazard (r) and Schalkes Salif Sane fight for the ball. Photo: Guido Kirchner/dpa - IMPORTANT NOTE: In accordance with the requirements of the DFL Deutsche Fußball Liga or the DFB Deutscher Fußball-Bund, it is prohibited to use or have used photographs taken in the stadium and/or the match in the form of sequence images and/or video-like photo sequences. (Photo by Guido Kirchner/picture alliance via Getty Images) /
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FC Schalke 04 starting center back Salif Sane went down with a scary-looking knee injury at the start of Matchday 10, and the defender will miss a few months.

Salif Sane has avoided the worst. FC Schalke 04 fans feared a significant ligament injury to the Senegal international, who was stretchered off the field and transported to the hospital after suffering a scary non-contact knee injury in the opening minutes of the Royal Blues’ Sunday evening game against FC Augsburg.

According to an official site announcement from Schalke, Sane underwent successful left knee surgery that was described by his surgeon as a “bucket tear” of the left lateral meniscus. Sane will miss about three to four months with the injury, which means the Royal Blues should be thankful that they’ll at least get to have their star center back in the mix for the final stretch of the campaign.

Schalke have a realistic chance at competing with Borussia Monchengladbach, Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich, and RB Leipzig for the league title. Based on the strength of their squad and David Wagner’s managerial prowess, Schalke are favorites to qualify for the Champions League in what would be an emphatic bounce-back performance from 2018-2019.

Next. Full Player Ratings from Schalke's win over Augsburg. dark

Sane’s injury is a tough blow, given that he’s one of the Bundesliga’s top five defenders. But Schalke have plenty of quality in defense, especially once Matija Nastasic returns from injury to combine with Ozan Kabak. The young Kabak scored a headed goal against Augsburg and is one of the best young defenders in all of Europe right now.

Schalke are also missing another starting center back and key leader in Benjamin Stambouli, but he has a sooner return date in late 2019 or early 2020. The Stambouli and, especially, Sane injuries are big losses for Wagner’s side, but it’s a good thing they have plenty of depth at the center back position. This looks like Kabak’s time to show his star quality in defense.

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