Silas has been with Mainz since the beginning of January, and the Congolese player has been a regular starter, even if he hasn’t been entirely convincing. In Olomouc, the striker was in the starting lineup but had to be substituted due to injury. There is great concern.
Just under an hour into the game in Czechia, Silas injured his left shin during a duel with Matus Maly without any contact from an opponent. The Congolese player remained on the ground, immediately removed his shin guard and called for medical assistance. The TV images gave cause for concern, as did the fact that the 27-year-old could only be carried off the field on a stretcher. In this round of 16 first leg at Sigma Olomouc, it was out of the question for him to continue playing, and Nelson Weiper was brought on as a substitute.
As the striker was carried off, chants of “Silas, Silas” echoed from the stands amid applause. At that point, it was logically not yet clear what kind of injury it was. Further examinations are needed to determine the severity and nature of the injury.
Substitute and match winner in Leipzig
Silas moved from Neckar to the Rhine at the beginning of January and has so far made eight Bundesliga appearances for Mainz 05, four of them in the starting line-up, with an average rating of 3.80. In the 2-1 win in Leipzig on matchday 20, he even scored the winning goal after a solo run – his only goal for the Rheinhessen club to date. While Sheraldo Becker fell by the wayside, Silas was one of three winter signings, alongside Stefan Posch and striker Phillip Tietz, who Mainz registered for the Conference League.
And in Olomouc, he also played his first European Cup game for Mainz. However, he remained rather inconspicuous in that game. In the 64 minutes he was on the pitch, he had 22 touches, 13 passes (pass accuracy of 62 percent) and six tackles won (17 percent tackle rate). He did not register a shot on goal or an assist, but his supposed 1-0 goal in the 26th minute was disallowed due to a very close offside decision. However, an assessment of his performance ultimately took a back seat to the injury.
Danny da Costa hoped that his teammate had not suffered a broken shin. “I can only hope that it’s not that and that he was lucky in his misfortune,” the right-back told RTL+.
