© EuroFootball.com
Czech national team and French club "Monaco" giant Jan Koller suffered a thigh injury during the French Cup match against "Reims" on Tuesday, which will likely prevent him from playing for at least a month.
The 33-year-old veteran striker's match against the French "Ligue 2" team "Reims" lasted only 20 minutes, after which he had to leave the field. The principality football players lost the match to "Reims" with a score of 4-3 after a penalty shootout.
Tests showed that J. Koller may be out of the lineup for at least six weeks due to the torn thigh muscle in his left leg, and it is possible that he will only return to the field after the New Year.
The Czech player suffered the same injury he had at this year's World Cup in Germany, and he does not intend to rush back into the team.
"I have to wait and see what our team doctors say about the X-ray results, but it seems that the tear is smaller than the one I experienced in the World Cup match against the USA," the player said. "But I wouldn't want it to happen again. I will play only when I feel good."
The painful defeat for the "Reims" team was the worst possible start for the new team coach Laurent Banide, who replaced Laszlo Boloni, expelled from the team on Monday, but the club's sports director Jean-Lucas Ettori supports the new strategist.
"After L. Boloni's departure, the only possible replacement was L. Banide. That was clear to us," said J-L. Ettori. "I am convinced that he is the right person. He loves the club, he has the desire, and his words are acceptable. We will do everything to help him."
Speaking about the defeat of the "Reims" team, the sports director said: "We are shocked. It's a series of bad results. But we feel improvement. The team has the desire and enthusiasm, we controlled the game and had plenty of opportunities."
At the moment, the "Monaco" team is not experiencing the best times and is in the penultimate 19th place in the French "Ligue 1" championship.
