Kristensen has been out of action since he sustained a thigh injury in the match against Kasper Hjulmand's Bayer Leverkusen in the middle of September, and his absence has been expensive for Frankfurt, who has conceded no less than 16 goals in six matches, more than any other team in the German Bundesliga.
During Kristensen's absence, Frankfurt has conceded 17 goals in all competitions, and Toppmöller is desperate that the former AS-Roma defender will be fit to take part in the game against Freiburg and add some much-needed stability to a very fragile defense.
Former Freiburg player Ritsu Doan could also benefit from Kristensen's return. "The two of them found each other relatively quickly during the preparation for this season. They are technically good and smart players, with good instincts," says Toppmöller to Kicker.de, and explains:
"If you saw in the first few weeks how well Ritsu played in exactly this combination, then you also noticed that he was missing something with Rasmus' absence. I think that Ritsu is very happy about the return."
Kristensen's replacement, Nnamdi Collins, has been in poor form recently and is also a different type of player. "Nnamdi is a more straightforward player who needs more space in front of him, likes to come from behind with his power and dynamism, and then go deep."
Freiburg will take on Eintracht Frankfurt in the Europa-Park Stadion at 15.30 CET on Sunday afternoon.
