Augsburg’s captain set to miss several weeks

Augsburg confirmed Jeffrey Gouweleeuw will be out for several weeks due to an internal ligament tear in his right knee. The Bavarians lost for the third time in a row when Mainz beat them 4-1 despite being reduced to ten-man early in the second-half.

Augsburg only conceded four goals in the first 12 games since the turn of the year, but they let in 25 in the next 11 encounters. Sandro Wagner will now have to fix the defense without the 34-year-old. Gouweleeuw had to be substituted in the 67th minute of Saturday’s game.

This is the first time the Dutch center-back has been sidelined with an injury in about two years. Augsburg hope he’ll be back after October’s international break. His fellow countryman Cedric Zesiger and the youngster Noahkai Banks will compete to get the nod to partner Keven Schlotterbeck and Chrislain Matsima in Augsburg’s backline.