Borussia Mönchengladbach Sign Daiki Hashioka Amid Injury Setbacks

Borussia Mönchengladbach are moving quickly to plug a hole they thought was already filled.

Barely weeks after Yukhym Konoplya arrived to lock down the right side of defence, the Ukrainian has been sidelined with a knee injury, and the club have turned to another summer solution: Daiki Hashioka.

Hashioka to answer Konoplya setback

According to reports from Sky Germany, relayed by transfermarkt.de, Gladbach have reached an agreement with Slavia Prague to take the Japanese international on loan with an option to buy. The 27-year-old is expected to complete his medical on Thursday, a formality that would make him the club’s eighth signing of the window and their second Japanese recruit.

Hashioka is no unknown quantity in European football. Last season he spent a spell on loan at KAA Gent, featuring 17 times and showing the kind of adaptability that will appeal to head coach Eugen Polanski. Right-back is his natural habitat, but he can also slot into central defence or push higher up the right flank when the game demands more aggression.

That flexibility has suddenly become vital.

Konoplya suffered a partial tear of the medial collateral ligament in his right knee during the 2-1 friendly win over Rot-Weiss Essen, a routine pre-season outing that turned costly. The diagnosis: around two months out, no team training during the Tegernsee camp, and a carefully managed return rather than an instant comeback.

For a squad already in the middle of a rebuild, it’s a significant blow. Hashioka’s potential arrival is less a luxury than a necessity.

Uno eases into Foals life

While one Japanese player edges towards the door, another has just stepped through it.

Zento Uno, the 22-year-old defensive midfielder, took part in his first full team session on Tuesday. Gladbach are handling him with care. He was used mainly in drills with limited physical contact, a gentle introduction before the intensity ramps up ahead of the training camp.

Communication is being treated as seriously as conditioning. Interpreter Atsushi Waki has been assigned to work with Uno during tactical meetings and on the training pitch, ensuring nothing is lost between whiteboard and grass.

“With a translator, we can ensure that our messages come across exactly as we intend them to,” Polanski said. “We're using this week to ease him into the workload so that, ideally, he'll be able to participate fully at training camp.”

The plan is clear: get Uno up to speed quickly enough that he can be a real option once the serious football starts, not a project for the winter.

Busy market, more change to come?

On the pitch, Gladbach’s pre-season schedule is starting to sharpen. Hansa Rostock are next on the agenda before the squad heads to Rottach-Egern, where friendlies against local side FC Rottach-Egern and Bundesliga rivals Hoffenheim will test how fast all these new pieces are coming together.

Off the pitch, the numbers tell their own story. The Foals have spent around €12.5 million on reinforcements while bringing in roughly €21 million in sales. It’s a rebuild with one eye on the balance sheet and another on the league table.

And the churn may not be over. Nathan Ngoumou, Tomas Cvancara and Florian Neuhaus are all being mentioned as possible departures, names that would shift both the dressing-room hierarchy and the tactical options at Polanski’s disposal.

For now, though, the immediate question is simpler: can Hashioka step in quickly enough to steady the right flank and keep Gladbach’s carefully constructed pre-season plan from fraying before a ball is even kicked in anger?