David Alaba to sit for Austrian team vs Israel

David Alaba is still feeling the aftereffects of a rib injury suffered in Bayern’s 7-2 trouncing of Tottenham and will not be fit in time to play for Austria in their upcoming match against Israel. However, in contrast to previous reports (Bild), Alaba will not return early to Munich but rather will stay in Vienna to support his teammates (Kicker). It also remains unclear whether he will play in Sunday’s match against Slovenia.

In stark contrast with Bayern’s relationship with the French Football Association in regard to the call-up of Lucas Hernandez, Austrian head coach Franco Foda had this to say about his position with Bayern:

The fact of the matter is that a player, including David, only plays when he is pain-free. As the national coach, I bear responsibility not only with respect to the player, but also with respect to his club. Hence we are in touch; I spoke with Bayern’s sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic on the phone. We are not taking any risk whatsoever.

Having a good working relationship with the national associations of the countries your players hail from is imperative going forward, so it’s nice to see one relationship that is free from contention.

Bild’s Tobias Altschäffl reports that Alaba will not travel with the team to Slovenia, where Austria plays on Sunday. The odds that he plays for Bayern against Augsburg after the break are unlikely.

David Alaba has checked out of the quarters of the Austrian team, but will stay in Vienna and watch the game tonight. He will not make the trip to Slovenia. He feels better, playing against Augsburg is not ruled out, but potentially risky.