Arsenal defender Viktoria Schnaderbeck has pulled out of the Austrian squad due to a muscle problem.
The Austrian Football Association, the OFB, announced the news via their official website earlier today. TSG 1899 Hoffenheim defender Celina Degen has been called into head coach Irene Fuhrmann’s squad in place of Schnaderbeck.
Schnaderbeck was set to return to the Austrian squad for the first time since the latter stages of UEFA Women’s EURO 2022 qualifying towards the end of last year but she must now wait a little longer to make her long-awaited comeback.
The defender made her Arsenal return in their recent 3-0 Barclays FA Women’s Super League victory over Everton at Meadow Park. Schnaderbeck had been sidelined for around nine months with a knee injury which turned out to be more troublesome than first thought. The player had been warming the Arsenal bench for a few weeks before finally getting the opportunity to come on during the Everton game.
Schnaderbeck misses Austria’s FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia New Zealand 2023 qualifying matches against Luxembourg and Northern Ireland over the course of the next eight days. The player will be keen to return to the fold for next month’s qualifiers with Schnaderbeck potentially able to come up against some of her Arsenal teammates who will represent England against Austria at The Stadium of Light in Sunderland.