Hinteregger was only absent earlier this week due to illness, but he really wanted to play the second leg against the Premier League club from London. However, the evening ended early for the defense chief in front of 48,500 loud spectators in Frankfurt.
After four minutes, the 29-year-old injured his right thigh in a duel with West Ham striker Michail Antonio, shortly afterwards the badly disappointed fan favorite had to be substituted. “It was incredibly bitter to change so early,” said head coach Oliver Glasner. That’s not how you want to start.
Hinteregger needs to be replaced
After just four minutes, the game is over for the ÖFB team defender with problems in his right thigh
Hinteregger will be missing both in the German Bundesliga against Gladbach this Sunday (3.30 p.m.) and on May 14 in Mainz. The failure is most bitter in the Europa League final against Glasgow Rangers, which takes place on May 18 in Seville. The first substitute candidate is Almamy Toure, who also came for Hinteregger on Thursday.
Glasner explained that Hinteregger will still play an important role for the team: “Martin will play an important role with us until the final, even if he can’t play. He always takes a player aside in the dressing room and gives them advice.”
Cheering at Frankfurt on reaching the final
With the finals on Thursday evening, Frankfurt experienced a great moment internationally and can hope for the title in the Europa League. “Compliments and congratulations. I’m hugely proud of us. We’re going into the final unbeaten, so we deserve it,” said Glasner, who is the first Austrian coach in a European Cup final in 26 years. After the game, crazy scenes took place in Frankfurt: the lawn of the German Bundesliga soccer stadium became a hidden object, the fans stormed onto the pitch and celebrated exuberantly.
The 47-year-old Glasner is only the sixth Austrian coach in a European Cup final. Previously, only Max Merkel (1965) with 1860 Munich, Hungarian-born Bela Guttmann, who was naturalized in 1956 and won the Champion Cup in 1961 and 1962 with Benfica Lisbon, Hermann Stessl (1978) with Vienna Austria and Ernst Dokupil (1996) with Rapid and trainer legend Ernst Happel. He won the European Cup with Feyenoord Rotterdam (1970) and HSV (1983) and was in a European Cup final three more times.
After 1960 and 1980 it is the third entry into a European final for Frankfurt. In the coming weeks, a lot will therefore only revolve around one date and one place: May 18, 9 p.m., Seville. They then face Glasgow Rangers at the Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan. However, Hinteregger will only be able to watch the final in Seville.
