BERLIN, June 16 (Xinhua) -- Mainz has agreed a new contract with forward Silas Katompa Mvumpa, keeping alive the 27-year-old's hopes of a comeback after a serious leg injury, the Bundesliga club announced on Tuesday.
The DR Congo attacker joined Mainz from Stuttgart last winter when the club was fighting relegation and was expected to add fresh options to its forward line.
Silas made only eight competitive appearances and scored one goal before fracturing his tibia and fibula in the first leg of Mainz's UEFA Conference League round-of-16 tie at Sigma Olomouc in early March.
Mainz had allowed a previously agreed extension option to lapse after the injury, leaving his future uncertain. The club said it has now found a better solution for both sides, without giving details of the contract length.
"For us it was already clear in the evening in Olomouc that we would not leave Silas behind, that is a matter of course at Mainz 05," sporting director Niko Bungert said.
"He had done very well up to the point of his injury and then was simply very unlucky. It is all the nicer that we have now been able to finalize his stay. I am sure Silas will continue to enrich our attack once he is fit again."
After joining from Paris FC in 2019, Silas helped Stuttgart win promotion to the Bundesliga and made 132 appearances, scoring 35 goals.
After struggling for minutes under Sebastian Hoeness, he spent the 2024-25 season on loan at Red Star Belgrade, where he appeared eight times in the Champions League, before returning to Stuttgart and making the winter transfer to Mainz.
"I am very grateful to the Mainz 05 officials that they immediately signaled maximum support to me," Silas said. "For me now it is mainly about continuing to do everything I can to get back on the pitch as quickly as possible. I really want to show that the trust placed in me is justified."
Mainz finished 10th in the Bundesliga last season. ■
