After Attack: Burgstaller Could Be in the Rapid Squad

The Carinthian flew with the team to Stockholm on Wednesday, where the first leg of the quarter-finals in the Football Conference League against Djurgårdens IF is scheduled for Thursday. A 23-year-old punched Burgstaller in December, and the athlete sustained a serious head injury from the fall.

"We only take him with us if he is fit. I don't take tourists with me," stated Rapid coach Robert Klauß before departure at Schwechat Airport. The 35-year-old Burgstaller had been training "regularly" with the team for the past two or three weeks. He had received medical clearance, said the German, and the player was fully resilient even with headers. "Then we will decide tomorrow based on the course of the game, and how it looks, whether it makes sense. But in any case, we take him with us because he is an option," emphasized Klauß. Burgstaller can compensate for many things with his experience and his style of football.

"I am really happy to be back with the team," emphasized Burgstaller on Rapid TV. "I feel quite good, everything fits, I have handled the training very positively. That's why we decided that I will be there," he explained. Burgstaller will be equipped with a "special headband" that is supposed to provide protection during headers and collisions. Headers were not a problem in training. "It actually felt like everything was as it used to be."

Attacker in Vienna received a suspended sentence

Since the incident on December 14, 2024, in front of a downtown disco, Burgstaller had not played a competitive match. According to a forensic medical report, he suffered a burst fracture of the skull and bruises in the area of both frontal lobes as well as in the area of the left cerebellum, which were associated with bleeding between the meninges. Additionally, there was left-sided inner ear hearing loss, and his sense of taste and smell were also impaired.

Burgstaller's attacker was sentenced to 16 months of suspended imprisonment at the end of March at the Vienna Regional Court. The judge described the act in the reasoning of the verdict as an "impulsive act out of stupidity." The verdict is not legally binding.

(APA/Red)

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