Poland's camp and Wojtuszek's role

Poland won four of a possible 12 points at its latest Nations League Division B camp under coach Jan Urban. The only convincing result was a 6:0 win over Romania in Warsaw, while Poland lost 0:1 to Bosnia and Herzegovina in Zenica. Norbert Wojtuszek, a 25-year-old defender at Jagiellonia Białystok, was called up for both matches. Reports differ on his minutes, with one saying he came on in the 63rd minute in both games and another putting him at 27 minutes in the Romania match.

Surgery and the club's statement

On Tuesday, 13 October, Jagiellonia announced that Wojtuszek had undergone surgery for an inguinal hernia. The club said further diagnostics and medical consultations made the operation necessary, and his planned break from play is estimated at several weeks. Wojtuszek was not available for Jagiellonia's match against Górnik Zabrze after returning from the camp, which caused considerable confusion. Speculation has since arisen over whether he should already have been treated after the match in Zenica.

PZPN's response

Earlier, the Polish Football Association published a statement on X about Wojtuszek's health. It said a strained long adductor muscle was found during the camp, and intensive physiotherapy brought improvement and allowed him to return to training.

“During the national team camp, Norbert Wojtuszek was found to have a strained long adductor muscle, with symptoms typical of this kind of injury. Intensive physiotherapy brought improvement and allowed the player to return to training.”

The federation also cited national team doctor Jacek Jaroszewski, who said an inguinal hernia usually develops gradually over many months and that its symptoms can resemble an adductor injury. The federation said conservative treatment was justified and that there is no basis to claim that taking part in the match caused the hernia.

Jagiellonia's request for records

Jagiellonia has formally asked the PZPN for the medical documentation from the tests run while diagnosing Wojtuszek's injury. It also requested information on how the national team medical staff handled him during the last camp, after which he was no longer able to train with the squad. The club's stated aim is to learn exactly what steps the national team medical staff took with the player.

Injury list and fixtures

Jagiellonia is also without Nik Prelec, who injured an ankle ligament late in the match against Górnik Zabrze and is out for at least several weeks. Youssuf Sylla and Dimitris Rallis could replace him up front, but neither has played many minutes this season, and Rallis is not registered for the Europa League. The club's next match is against Ararat-Armenia Yerevan on Thursday, 15 October, in the Europa League league phase, with kickoff at 21:00.