Reiss Nelson was mysteriously absent from Hoffenheim’s squad to face Bayern Munich on Friday, but it now appears he missed out with injury, rather than for tactical reasons.

NUREMBERG, GERMANY - OCTOBER 20: Reiss Nelson of 1899 Hoffenheim runs with the ball during the Bundesliga match between 1. FC Nuernberg and TSG 1899 Hoffenheim at Max-Morlock-Stadion on October 20, 2018 in Nuremberg, Germany. (Photo by Adam Pretty/Bongarts/Getty Images)
NUREMBERG, GERMANY – OCTOBER 20: Reiss Nelson of 1899 Hoffenheim runs with the ball during the Bundesliga match between 1. FC Nuernberg and TSG 1899 Hoffenheim at Max-Morlock-Stadion on October 20, 2018, in Nuremberg, Germany. (Photo by Adam Pretty/Bongarts/Getty Images)

It was a bit of surprise to see Nelson miss out entirely on Hoffenheim’s Bundesliga squad on Friday. The club hadn’t posted an official statement to confirm an injury and Julian Nagelsmann hadn’t mentioned one in his pre-match press conferences.

Even after the match, German outlets like Bild wrote that Nelson’s absence was ‘not quite understandable’. Clearly, they weren’t aware of any fitness issues with the winger.

According to Bundesliga reporter Archie Rhind-Tutt, however, fitness was exactly why the Arsenal loanee wasn’t involved. He wrote on Twitter that Nelson wasn’t in the Hoffenheim squad ‘due to injury’.

We’re still waiting on further updates from official Hoffenheim sources, and it’s strange that the whole thing is being kept so quiet. Hopefully, it’s nothing serious, and Nelson will be back in the squad to face SC Freiburg next Saturday. We’ll see.

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Nelson has six goals and one assist in 19 appearances for his loan club this season, but he’s still only made five starts so far. With any luck, he’ll add to that significantly in the second half of the campaign.

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