Freiburg’s forgotten Daniel-Kofi Kyereh: ‘He’s been suffering for a long time’ – Julian Schuster | OneFootball

An article appearing in Thursday’s edition of Kicker detailed the unfortunate career trajectory of Freiburg forward Daniel-Kofi-Kyereh. The German-Ghanaian hasn’t made a competitive appearance in over two years after suffering a nasty ACL tear in February 2023. The road back from the second such injury of his career has been most rocky for the 29-year-old.

Kofi Kyereh remained a player of great interest in German footballing circles. Many recalled the impressive manner in which he rose up through the 3. Liga ranks with SV Wehen Wiesbaden and powered his way into the top flight via an excellent 2. Bundesliga season with St. Pauli. Freiburg signed him away from the Kiezkicker for €4.5m in summer 2020.

Even after arriving in Breisgau, the Ghanaian international still had to struggle through his fair share of adversity. Christian Streich stuck him with the SCF reserves after some poor training performances. Kofi Kyereh eventually was able to get rolling with two Bundesliga goals in October. He then represented his native African country in the 2022 World Cup.

Unfortunately, the two October goals would serve as his last in the German top flight. After three competitive appearances in 2023, a training tackle yielded the ACL tear. Kofi Kyereh hasn’t returned to action as the nature of the injury has prevented him getting his ability to shift direction laterally on the pitch back.

The Kicker article referenced a private conversation with Kofi Kyereh, in which the player conveyed muted wishes to return to action. In sad detail, Kicker journalist Carsten Schröter-Lorenz also noted that some Bundesliga professionals out of action for so long may not receive compensation without private insurance.

Freiburg head coach Julian Schuster was asked to comment on the article at his Thursday press conference. Schuster could only offer up his condolences to a player who has never appeared under him or even completed a full training session under his watch.

“Kofi has been suffering for a long time,” Schuster said. “Two years is a really long time. There have been positive moments recently. He is mostly working individually. Nevertheless, he has already done a few parts with us at the start of training. These are moments that make us feel positive.”

GGFN | Peter Weis