GERMANY’S new World Cup hero Niclas Fullkrug once had a teammate’s tooth lodged in his head during a youth game accident.
The dramatic injury did not stop him powering his way to the top of his game, with the striker this morning the talk of Germany.
Fullkrug’s equaliser yesterday off the bench rescued a point against Spain in the World Cup to help salvage hopes of a place in the knockouts.
The 29-year-old’s heroics came after him making his Germany debut just this month in a friendly against Oman.
He also scored on that occasion with a late goal.
Fullkrug’s sudden appearance as a national hero is just the latest twist in a strange career.
The weirdest incident came when he was playing a youth game for Werder Bremen over a decade ago.
A gruesome accident saw a teammate’s tooth become lodged in his head with the pair both taken to hospital.
Speaking of the incident previously, Fullkrug said: “That was insane, but a lot of people don’t believe it.
“It was very dangerous because of a threat of infection due to the bacteria. We both had to go to hospital, [but] everything was put right and cleaned up.”
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It’s not the only time teeth has come to define an aspect of the German‘s career.
He is nicknamed Lücke by teammates, German for “the gap”, in a nod to a visible space in his own front set of gnashers where a tooth is missing.
Amid the strange moments, Fullkrug has carved out an impressive career for himself.
He had spent most of his time in the lower divisions in Germany before returning to his youth club Werder Bremen in 2019 who were in the top flight.
But a cruciate ligament injury early in the season halted his progress, and the club were nearly relegated that year.
The star has found his feet this season though and has 10 goals in 14 league appearances for Bremen.
His club form got him his first World Cup call-up and he justified the decision by cancelling out Alvaro Morata‘s opening goal for Spain yesterday.
Germany are having to stage a comeback act after their shock opening game defeat to Japan.
