Germany star Dzsenifer Marozsan will miss the rest of the group stage

Germany star Dzsenifer Marozsan suffered a broken toe in her squad’s 1-0 win over China in the Women’s World Cup and will not be able to play against Spain on Wednesday at 12:00 PM EST. In fact, Marozsan’s status for the rest of the group stage is doubtful, while her return to the tournament is likely questionable.

Marozsan is widely considered Germany’s best player and her presence will be sorely missed. Germany co-trainer Britta Carlson provided this immediate update on Maroszan’s status to kicker:

Dzsenifer will definitely not play against Spain.

In addition, Germany coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg acknowledged that the team cannot “fall back on (Marozsan) in the preliminary round.” Voss-Tecklenburg also told Deutsche Welle that the injury is nothing to scoff at:

Anyone who has broken a toe knows how much it hurts. She really gritted her teeth and put herself in the service of the team. We got the diagnosis after the game and we now won’t be able to count on Dzseni for the rest of the group stage. You can’t replace her because of the special abilities she possesses. We will have to compensate (for her loss) as a team.

As far as a longer-term prognosis, Voss-Tecklenburg indicated that Marozsan’s return was not a sure thing saying she was “hopeful that Marozsan could return to the pitch before the end of the tournament.”

Germany defender Leonie Maier, who transferred from Bayern Munich to Arsenal a few weeks ago, acknowledged that the rest of the team will have to step-up:

We have a deep roster, so we can compensate for this and we will play for Maro.

Marozsan, a 27-year-old midfielder, plays professionally Olympique Lyon.