Having initially rejoined training during the winter break after a serious ankle injury, Sepp van den Berg now faces an indefinite spell out at Schalke.
Van den Berg tore the ligament in his left ankle during a 3-2 defeat to Augsburg in October, undergoing surgery which ruled him out until after the World Cup.
The Dutchman subsequently returned to light training at Schalke’s mid-season training camp in Turkey, though he was not involved in their warmup friendlies.
He was expected to be back fit ahead of the Bundesliga restart, but has now missed losses to Eintracht Frankfurt and RB Leizpig and a 0-0 draw with FC Koln.
Speaking ahead of that stalemate in Gelsenkirchen, Schalke manager Thomas Reis gave an update on the Liverpool loanee, revealing an extended layoff.
“With Sepp, it’s the case that he won’t be available to us for a while,” he told reporters, as quoted by LigaInsider.
“I can’t predict how long that will be.
“He still has the same problem with the operated foot. It’s hard to predict when he’ll be able to complete the training without pain.”
It is a frustrating situation for Van den Berg, who seemed in with a chance of breaking into the first-team squad at Liverpool with a productive loan at Schalke.
He started his first four games with the club, but has now missed four months and counting, losing his place in the side and seeing a change of manager at the VELTINS-Arena.
Reis took over from Frank Kramer in October, and Schalke have now brought in another centre-back in Lorient loanee Moritz Jenz, who started alongside Maya Yoshida in the draw with Koln.
Sunday’s clean sheet was only the fourth of the season for Schalke, and if Jenz and Yoshida find form as a partnership, Van den Berg could face a fight for his place upon return.
For now, the focus will be on making a full recovery, with the 21-year-old needing to make up for lost time when back fit.
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