The shock of Lennart Karl’s withdrawal from the World Cup continues to run deep. After the Bayern youngster received the devastating diagnosis of a torn muscle bundle on Friday, there were obviously emotional scenes in the German national team camp. The farewell to the 18-year-old was particularly poignant for his team-mates and officials
For Lennart Karl, the 2026 World Cup was supposed to be the greatest highlight of his young career to date. Instead, the dream ended just a few days before the start of the tournament with a serious injury
The FC Bayern attacking player tore a muscle bundle in the final training session before the last World Cup test against the USA and will miss the entire World Cup. This is a bitter setback for the German national team, as Karl was considered one of the great hopes in attack
Particularly bitter: after Serge Gnabry, this is the second important attacking player to miss out due to injury, and the disappointment within the team was correspondingly great
Karl burst into tears on the training pitch
As reported by BILD, the dramatic extent of the injury became apparent immediately after the scene on the training pitch, with Karl reportedly bursting into tears on the pitch when he realized that the injury could be more serious
Vice-captain Antonio Rüdiger did not leave the Bayern professional alone at that moment and accompanied him to the dressing room afterwards
Many of his teammates were initially unaware of the situation and, as the German national team trained in smaller groups, many players only found out about the severity of the injury later
On the same day, Karl was taken to hospital for further examination, where doctors confirmed the feared muscle bundle tear. The diagnosis meant that the 18-year-old’s World Cup was over before it had even begun
Moving farewell at the team hotel
According to the report, things got particularly emotional at the team hotel in Chicago that evening. After the diagnosis was officially confirmed, the entire team gathered to say goodbye to Karl and encourage him for the coming weeks
According to the report, national coach Julian Nagelsmann held a personal speech for the attacking player. The DFB coach tried to encourage his protégé and reminded him that his career had only just begun
Above all, the prospect of many more major tournaments should give Karl hope. Nagelsmann made it clear to the Bayern talent that missing out on the World Cup did not mean the end of his international career
Karl himself also wanted to speak to his team-mates, but according to BILD, he found it difficult to do so. The disappointment of missing out on the World Cup was too deep-seated
The 18-year-old is said to have hardly been able to get a word out and was visibly struggling with his emotions. The mood within the team was described as extremely depressed. Silence prevailed for long stretches while the players said goodbye to their team-mates
Karl then made his way back to Munich, where the rehabilitation phase will now begin
FC Bayern are also following the injury with great concern. The attacking player is likely to miss large parts of the summer preparations. It remains to be seen whether Karl will be available again in time for the start of the new season
However, one thing is already certain: the shooting star’s World Cup withdrawal has not only affected the player himself, but has also left deep scars on his teammates.