Sickening head injury mars Heidenheim draw
Heideheim and Bochum played out a goalless stalemate in their crucial six pointer at the bottom of the Bundesliga on Saturday (AEST), but the result meant little after the host's goalkeeper Kevin Muller suffered a serious head injury midway through the match at Voith-Arena.
The hosts' No.1, who has only missed six games in nine years at the club, was knocked out cold after jumping for the ball with Bochum's Ibrahima Sissoko in the 50th minute of the contest, and was left worryingly motionless on the ground as his team-mates rushed to assist.
Players and fans alike looked on with serious concern as the 34-year-old, who signed a new contract unti 2027 this year, was treated on the field by paramedics and club doctors for more than 10 minutes before being wheeled off the pitch on a gurney.
Both sets of fans chanted his name in unison in an emotional show of support that left many in tears as the shock of the incident set in. There were no further updates on the extent of the injury from the club in the immediate aftermath of the match.
While the result seemed immaterial in the context of all that, Bochum's stay in the Bundesliga remains precarious with two matches left to play in its season, and Heidenheim's fragile status is little better.
Bochum remains bottom on the table and four points adrift of the relegation play-off spot, which is currently occupied by Heidenheim, as both sides battle desperately to hold on to top flight status in Germany.
Defeat would have condemned Bochum to the second tier, but a draw means it lives to fight another day, moving level on points with 17th-placed Holstein Kiel.
In a first half lacking chances, befitting of both teams' position in the league, Bochum was better in the final third, with Giorgos Masouras and Myron Boadu testing Muller before he was lost to injury.
Marvin Pieringer registered Heidenheim's first shot on target in the 75th minute, but Frank Schmidt's team never looked like troubling the scoreboard in the contest.
This was another game without a goal for Heidenheim, which has been the story of its season. It has failed to score in 14 of its 32 games.
Bochum, meanwhile, has now failed to win any of its past seven Bundesliga matches. It's previous longest winless streak was from May 2024 to December 2024, a run of 16 games.
Both teams will be nervously watching Kiel's clash with Ausgburg, while St. Pauli and Hoffenheim could cement survival for themselves with wins over Stuttgart and Borussia Monchengladbach respectively.
