The crisis afflicting relegation-threatened VfL Wolfsburg continues to deepen. The German Wolves must travel to Hamburg this weekend to face rising Hamburger SV at the Volksparkstadion in a crucial Bundesliga fixture. Wolfsburg head coach Paul Simonis confirmed on Thursday that his team must face HSV without defensive stalwart Kilian Fischer. 

Mostly due to the lack of alternatives, Fischer has played nearly every minute of all eight Wolfsburg fixtures at right back. Saël Kumbedi – the Frenchman procured to serve as Fischer’s back-up – has had difficulty acclimating to the Bundesliga due to linguistic barriers and other issues. Kumbedi faces a “baptism by fire” this weekend against a very strong HSV left-hand-side.

Simonis confirmed that an ankle injury might sideline Fischer for “a month or more” whilst speaking at his Thursday press conference. Given that Kumbedi has only seen 33 minutes of forgettable action since moving to Lower Saxony, Simonis might turn to Joakim Maehle, Aaron Zehnter, Jenson Seelt, or even Mathys Angely to serve at right back this weekend.