Football
9y

John Brooks set for first-team chance at Hertha Berlin due to injuries

Hertha Berlin's injury problems are set to hand John Brooks a chance to regain a first-team spot at the struggling Bundesliga club.

On Friday, Hertha suffered a 2-0 home defeat to Hannover and have since dropped to 14th in the table with just 11 points from 11 games -- one point clear of the relegation zone.

To make matters worse for coach Jos Luhukay -- who for the first time since taking over the club in July 2012 has come in for criticism from the media -- he has also lost his captain Fabian Lustenberger to injury.

Lustenberger was substituted after sustaining a tendon injury early on in the second half of Friday's defeat, with Hertha stating on their official website that the Switzerland international is set for four to six weeks on the sidelines.

With centre-back Sebastian Langkamp also out for the rest of the year, it was Brooks who came off the bench for Lustenberger, and he could now finally gain some more game time.

Despite starring in the club's promotion-winning campaign two years ago, the U.S. international has since dropped down the pecking order, with Luhukay recently urging him to become more consistent with his performances.

"Patience is needed and we have that patience -- we want him to become a mainstay for our team in the near future," Luhukay said last month.

"John has had the chance to develop as a Bundesliga player for two years now. That's a process, and it never stops. You need to give it your all in training every day. That's how you get consistency and stability in Bundesliga games."

Following the international break -- when Brooks will be part of the U.S. squad for the friendlies against Colombia and Republic of Ireland -- Hertha will resume their Bundesliga campaign away at Cologne, before hosting league leaders Bayern Munich at the end of the month.

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