Slavia Loses Ninth Player: Hýtil Limps Off Against Teplice

Slavia Prague travelled to Teplice just three days after a dramatic Champions League defeat to French runners-up Lens (2:3). The team took to the field missing eight regular starters — according to head coach Jindřich Trpišovský, all of them "could, at best, have sat in the stands in civilian clothes."

In defence, Tomáš Holeš, Ange N'Guessan and, as of Thursday, David Zima were all unavailable. In midfield, David Moses, Lukáš Provod and Mubarak Suleiman were sidelined, along with Michal Sadílek, who broke his nose in the game against Lens. Up front, the coach couldn't call on the pacy Bryan Oyandu. On top of that, Igoh Ogbu remains in lengthy rehabilitation after an Achilles injury sustained back in June.

Coach admits the scale of the crisis

"We were missing eight players. Perhaps all of them would have been in the starting eleven," Trpišovský said. He noted that the club has significantly strengthened its squad depth over the past year, otherwise the problems would have been far more severe. The coach also pointed out that some players are taking the field while battling physical fatigue, pushing themselves "to the limit."

Hýtil injured mid-match

The situation was made worse by an injury to key striker Mojmír Hýtil, who has scored four goals this season. In the ninth minute, he was caught in an awkward tackle by defender Oskars Vientiesis, twisting his left ankle unnaturally. Hýtil stayed on the pitch, managed to score a goal before the break that was later disallowed, and finished the first half, limping more heavily with each passing minute. He was replaced after the interval by Daniel Šturm, who scored a brace against Lens.

Trpišovský said he realised the severity of the injury immediately: "As soon as I saw it on the tablet, I sent Dani (Šturm) and Schranc (Ivan Schranc) to warm up. Mojmír still wanted to try to continue. By the 35th minute he was limping noticeably more, but he said he wanted to finish the half."

With Hýtil out, Tomáš Chorý is the only recognised striker left available, though the coach can also deploy the versatile Ivan Schranc up front.

A cup tie and a clash with Plzeň await

The team's only consolation is the approaching international break. Before that, Slavia face a third-round Czech Cup tie on Wednesday against third-division side Varnsdorf, followed by a top-of-the-table league clash with Plzeň on Sunday.

Around Prague, based on reporting by sport.cz