Howedes hopeful of Schalke recovery

Schalke captain Benedikt Howedes is adamant his team can overcome Athletic Bilbao and progress to the semi-finals of the Europa League on Thursday.

Huub Stevens’ side face an uphill task at San Mames in northern Spain, having lost the first leg 4-2 at the Veltins Arena.

But Howedes, who will not feature in the second leg due to injury, believes his team can score enough goals to take them through.

“We have often shown that we can score three or four goals, it is not impossible,” he told Derwesten.

Schalke are in something of a defensive crisis heading into the clash, with Howedes, Christoph Metzelder and Christian Fuchs all unavailable through injury.