AMSTERDAM – Hamburg have corrected recent reports stating that loan winger Julian Green has been demoted to the second team, insisting he remains and will remain a member of the senior side.
The club says the 19-year-old US international, who is spending the season on loan from Bayern Munich, could be handed some HSV II starts to raise his match fitness. Partially due to injuries, Green has been limited to 113 first-team minutes with Hamburg this season, and none since November.
"He's not moving to the Under-23 team," HSV press officer Lars Wegener told MLSsoccer.com on Wednesday. "Our sport director said that maybe he could play for the U-23s a couple times when he is not in the first-team squad. The reason is to get him some matches and more practice. He is still with the first team in training."
Green also weighed in on the subject, posting a statement to his Facebook page that indicated he's staying with Hamburg's senior side
While Hamburg's senior side have warmed recently to move away from the drop zone, the second team currently stands clear atop the fourth-flight Regionalliga Nord. While HSV visits Bayern in Bundesliga play on Saturday, their U-23 squad will return from the winter break with a Saturday visit from Wolfsburg II.
