St. Pauli lose Saad to ankle ligament injury
| FC St. Pauli | FC St. Pauli |
Brought back down to earth by FSV Mainz 05 over the weekend, newly promoted Bundesliga side FC St. Pauli will now have to do without their leading goal-scorer for a month or more. German-Tunisian winger Elias Saad - whose unlikely story and rise has captivated many in German footballing circles over the last few weeks - tore an ankle ligament in Saturday night's loss. The 24-year-old will be out for a month or more.
Saad joined Hamburg's "Kiezkicker" in December of 2022 from fourth-tier FC Eintracht Norderstedt 03 in December of 2022. He scored nine goals for St. Pauli in the second division, but was not widely considered to be a candidate for the starting XI after Pauli progressed to the next level. Saad proved many a critic wrong with an inspired performance against Leipzig on match-day four and a brace against Freiburg the following week.