HAMBURG, Germany (AP) — United States defensive midfielder James Sands faces a potentially lengthy layoff with an apparently serious ankle injury sustained while playing for St. Pauli.
Sands, who only joined the German club on loan from New York City FC in January, had to be helped off the field in stoppage time of the team’s 1-0 Bundesliga loss at home to Freiburg on Saturday. He was then taken to a local hospital.
“It looks really bad,” St. Pauli coach Alexander Blessin said after the game. “At first I thought, the knee. But it doesn’t look good for the ankle.”
Sands had made his fifth consecutive start for St. Pauli in his seventh appearance since joining in the winter transfer period, indicating how important he had become for the promoted team in just over a month.
“It really hits me to the core,” Blessin said of Sands’ injury. “He was very strong in challenges and brought Jackson Irvine into a better position beside him. That’s why it hurts very, very much. The hope is that he’ll be back as soon as possible. But it’s not likely at the moment.”
Sands had only last week told journalists how he hoped his move to St. Pauli could help put him back in the mix for a national team place ahead of the World Cup next year.
St. Pauli, which is fighting for Bundesliga survival after its sixth promotion to the top division, also has Connor Metcalfe, Robert Wagner, Elias Saad, Karol Mets and Morgan Guilavogui out with injuries.
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
The Associated Press
