Austria have suffered a major setback ahead of the FIFA World Cup, with midfielder Christoph Baumgartner ruled out of the tournament due to a thigh muscle injury, the Austrian Football Association confirmed on Tuesday.
The 26-year-old sustained the injury during the warm-up before Austria’s international friendly against Tunisia on Monday. Subsequent MRI scans revealed the extent of the problem, ruling him out of the World Cup and forcing team officials to seek a replacement.
Baumgartner heads into the tournament’s sidelines after an impressive campaign with RB Leipzig, where he registered 17 goals and nine assists across all competitions.
“Christoph Baumgartner will be missed by the national team at the World Cup. This was confirmed following today’s MRI examination. The 26-year-old suffered a muscle injury in his right thigh. We wish you all the best, Baumi,” Austrian Football Association X handle wrote on X.
“This is of course very bitter news for Christoph and for us as a team,” coach Ralf Rangnick said in a statement, as quoted by Reuters.
“He is an important player and a central personality within our team. Now our full support is for his recovery,” he added.
Austria begins their World Cup Group J campaign against Jordan on June 16.
Austria squad for the FIFA World Cup 2026:
Goalkeepers: Patrick Pentz, Alexander Schlager, Florian Wiegele
Defenders: David Affengruber, David Alaba, Kevin Danso, Marco Friedl, Philipp Lienhart, Phillipp Mwene, Stefan Posch, Alexander Prass, Michael Svoboda
Midfielders: Carney Chukwuemeka, Florian Grillitsch, Konrad Laimer, Marcel Sabitzer, Xaver Schlager, Romano Schmid, Alessandro Schopf, Nicolas Seiwald, Paul Wanner, Patrick Wimmer
Forwards: Marko Arnautovic, Michael Gregoritsch, Sasa Kalajdzic. (ANI)
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