Jürgen Klopp will have to make do without one of the younger players he selected for his first Germany squad.
Attacker Brajan Gruda has been ruled out of the international break after suffering an oblique strain during his club’s away match at Bayer Leverkusen per a release from RB Leipzig’s social media account. The 22-year-old will now remain with his club to recover rather than joining up with Klopp and the Germany squad.
It is an especially frustrating development for Gruda, who was finally rewarded
with his first senior Germany call-up. Klopp included the attacker in his squad as he begins his tenure with the national team, giving Gruda an opportunity to make his senior international debut.
That debut will have to wait.
There is a little bit of history here as well. While this was his first official senior call-up, Gruda did train with the senior national team ahead of EURO 2024, but had to miss most of the camp due to injury and was not part of the tournament squad. Gruda also withdrew from the Germany U-21 squad in October 2025 because of a knee issue.
Now, Klopp will have to move forward without another intriguing young attacking option. For Gruda, the priority is to recover, get back on the pitch, and make sure this first Germany call-up is only the beginning.
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