Midtjylland suffer big injury blow ahead of Hibs clash as boss sends message to Easter Road over Euro ambition
There’s an issue in a key area of the park for FC Midtjylland as Hibs prepare for Europa League battle
FC Midtjylland have suffered a major injury blow ahead of their Europa League clash with Hibs - as their head coach sends a clear continental message.
The Danes will play hosts next week in the first leg of the second qualifying round, before action at Easter Road a week later. Hibs will face Bolton Wanderers this weekend as they continue to ramp up for the game while Midtjylland’s Superliga campaign starts versus Odense this weekend.
Ahead of that, they have confirmed key central defender Ousmane Diao has suffered a foot injury that rules him out of both legs. The Senegalese star played 42 times last campaign and scored an impressive seven goals with two assists from the back, but won’t be kitted out to take on Hibs.
FC Midtjylland injury blow ahead of Hibs
A statement reads: “Ousmane Diao has suffered an injury during training on his holiday in his home country, and examinations have subsequently shown that it is a fracture in the foot, which has required surgery, which has gone according to plan.
“The injury means Diao has not yet been in action in pre-season and will miss the first few months of the new season. He is expected to be ready after the international break in September. We wish Diao a good rehabilitation and we look forward to seeing him back on the field.”
Meanwhile, head coach Thomas Thomasberg has fired a message to Hibs that his side are preparing for matches in Europe beyond the summer after impressive pre season performances against Slovan Bratislava and Dynamo Kyiv. He said: “We had some good training sessions and also two matches that resulted in two wins against Dynamo Kyiv and Slovan Bratislava. We actually think that many of the things we had trained and talked about were also carried out.
What FC Midtjylland have said about Hibs clash
"When you spend so many hours together on a trip (to Austria) like this, you also get shaken up even more – and that applies to both us in the coaching staff, but also the playing squad. So in every way, I think it was a great trip, which we ended with a good victory in Bratislava. We really want to play these two games a week, because the European midweek games are just great matches where we get the opportunity to be matched against teams from other countries.
“It is our clear goal that this is something that will continue for the rest of the autumn. I think we are in a good place to be able to handle that game schedule, but I think we will only really get the answer when the tournaments have started. You have to know that every point counts, we've seen that for ourselves the last two years.
“We crossed the finish line the first full season I was here, and last year we were one or two points short of it. So every time we go out on the field – including next Sunday – it has an impact on the overall result. When you've experienced the difference in emotions, depending on whether you end up with gold or silver, it definitely does something to my own hunger, and I also have the feeling that the players feel the same way. That it's even greater in relation to the fact that we're the ones who are going to win gold again."