FC Schalke: How to get by without Salif Sane

FC Schalke will be without Salif Sane for the rest of the year. That’s a tough blow to take, but here is how to get by with minimal suffering.

FC Schalke were handed arguably the biggest injury blow they could have received—Salif Sane will be out for the remainder of the year after undergoing a successful operation following his injury against Augburg that saw him off in the 8th minute. You could tell at the time this was the kind of injury that you hate to see and that proved true.

The next step for FC Schalke is to find a solution. How do they move forward without their best defender, the guy that was the glue of that back line?

Well, that’s tough to answer. If you came here looking for a “just do X and everything will be fine!” then you’re an even bigger optimist than me. There is no easy answer, but the good news is that there are answers, and it starts with player accountability.

Of course, the other problem is that Benjamin Stambouli is also out for the foreseeable future, which leaves David Wagner with essentially two options, both of which involve new signing Ozan Kabak.

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Kabak was brought in for a reason, and maybe Wagner felt like it wasn’t time yet to throw him to the wolves, but it was a statement of faith that he called on Kabak when Stambouli went down and, for the most part, Kabak repaid that faith. These are professional footballers, they know that when opportunity knocks, they have to be there to answer, because it doesn’t knock that often.

They also know how to shoulder added responsibility. Or at least they should. And we will find out soon enough of Kabak is that kind of reliable footballer. My suspicion is that he will prove to be, since he already did in light of Stambouli’s injury.

The two options to go alongside Kabak are either Mattija Nastasic or someone out of position, maybe Weston McKennie, Bastian Oczipka, or something else unnecessarily creative. I say unnecessarily because Nastasic carries with him the experience of a seasoned professional who has been in precarious situations before. He’s been a regular with this club before.

He knows his stuff. He’s earned that spot.

All things considered, trusting Nastasic, who is 100% worthy of trust, and Kabak, who is eager and ready to prove himself, doesn’t sound like all that bad of a situation to be in. Put trust in your players and see who repays you.