Stuttgart left fearing the worst for defender Luca Jaquez after nasty aerial collision | OneFootball

VfB Stuttgart found themselves upset in their opening 2025/26 Bundesliga fixture against Union Berlin. The Swabians unfortunately have more than a loss to be upset about. It looks to be the case that Swiss defender Luca Jaquez will be out long-term after suffering a broken nose near the end of the match. Jaquez took a hard elbow straight to the face during an aerial duel with Union striker Andrej Ilic.

Jaquez unexpectedly fought his way past much stronger competitors during Stuttgart training camp and was rewarded by head coach Sebastian Hoeneß with a starting centre-back role. The 22-year-old finds himself the victim of exceptionally poor luck in this instance. VfB keeper Alexander Nübel and club board-member-for-sport Fabian Wohlgemuth confirmed that Jaquez’s injury was “grim” whilst speaking in the mixed zone.

Jaquez will almost certainly be unavailable for Stuttgart’s opening round Pokal fixture in three days’ time. As DFL Supercup participants, Stuttgart have yet to officially open their domestic cup campaign. The 2024/25 DFB Pokal champions travel to Eintracht Braunschweig on Tuesday to begin their title defense against a tough German second division opponent.

GGFN | Peter Weis