A football legend who was once one of Europe’s top strikers was rushed to hospital with a punctured lung and three broken ribs after a horrendous skiing accident
A football legend was rushed to hospital with a punctured lung and three broken ribs after a horror skiing crash.
Ex-Hertha Berlin goal machine and former Germany international Michael Preetz suffered severe injuries when skiing in Austria. The 58-year-old, who was the Bundesliga’s top scorer with 23 strikes for Hertha in the 1998/99 season, took to the slopes at Saalbach-Hinteglemm last week but crashed in a violent fall.
The former Hertha manager broke three ribs and was rushed to hospital, where he was diagnosed with a punctured and collapsed lung. Preetz, who made seven appearances and scored three times for Germany, had to undergo an emergency operation, which saw surgeons insert a tube in his lungs.
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Now chief executive of German third division side MSV Duisburg, Preetz thankfully hinted that he will “soon” be out of hospital. The ex-forward told German news outlet BILD: “The slope was very icy at one point and I fell violently, although I am actually a more than passable skier.
“I crashed all over my ribs. It is very painful, especially when coughing and laughing. I have to do breathing exercises now and have an eight-week sports ban.
“The most important thing is that my lungs fully unfold again, I can get rid of the tube soon and get out of the clinic.”
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Preetz was a striker for German second division side Fortuna Dusseldorf at the start of his career in the mid-1980s, before making the switch to third-tier outfit FC Saarbrucken, now regional side SG Wattenscheid, and then Duisburg.
His prowess in front of goal earned him a move to Hertha, where he scored 93 goals in 227 games, including his standout campaign in 1998/99, which saw ‘The Old Lady’ finish third in the Bundesliga in their joint-best ever season, qualifying for the Champions League.
His good form was rewarded by a call-up to Erich Ribbeck’s Germany side in 1999. He retired at Hertha, becoming a managerial assistant at the club in 2003 and then served as their general manager from 2009 to 2021.