Marcel Sabitzer injury issue confirmed as Austria prepare for Estonia

Both Sabitzer and defender Gernot Trauner were forced out of the final training session before the qualifier, with Rangnick revealing they suffered knocks.

“In the end, it is a question of pain and pain tolerance for both Marcel and Gernot,” he said. “Of course, we hope that Marcel will do well, especially after that first game in Linz. At the moment, I’m optimistic that it can work but, at the end of the day, it’s also a question of whether Marcel feels ready for it himself. At the moment, I am assuming he’ll play.

“It made more sense to leave them out [of the session] again, just to give them one more day. But there are enough other candidates.”

Marcel has been suffering knee pain but it certainly did not affect his performance in Saturday’s triumph.

“Sabi’s performance was outstanding,” said Rangnick to Laola 1. “You can’t say it any other way. He is simply a player with a lot of quality. I think the change [move] did him good. He is literally flourishing, which is very, very good. He has a lot more confidence than when he was at Bayern Munich.”