Augsburg have insisted that they sacked Dirk Schuster for sporting reasons only and played down speculation of the coach being involved in a fight.
Augsburg dismissed Schuster earlier this week after only 14 games into his stint with the Bundesliga side, having arrived from Darmstadt in the summer after keeping the club in the German top flight last term playing a defensive brand of football.
Augsburg said on Wednesday that an analysis of the current sporting situation revealed "differing views on the continued sporting orientation and the way that Augsburg wants to play football."
This, however, was questioned by sections of the German media because of Schuster's history at Darmstadt, and attention soon turned to a black eye the coach sported on the days leading up to his dismissal and which may have made him miss last Sunday's training session.
"Solely sporting reasons are behind the changes in the dugout," Augsburg sporting director Stefan Reuter told reporters, but confirmed that Schuster sustained an eye injury at the weekend. "He had a cut which needed to be stitched on Sunday, but that has nothing to do with our decision."
When asked whether something happened or if Schuster was involved in a fight, Reuter replied: "I know nothing about a fight. He said he fell, and I have no reason not to believe him. It can happen to anyone."
Reuter added that Schuster also struggled with a stomach bug, which led to him missing Sunday's training session.
Speaking to Bild, Schuster's agent, Ronny Zeller, also cited the stomach bug as one of the reasons behind his client missing the training session.
On Schuster's black eye, Zeller added: "He slipped in his bathroom [on Saturday evening], hit a rack with his head and sustained a cut above his left eye. The club doctor took care of it on Sunday morning."
Augsburg are 13th in the 18-team Bundesliga with three wins from 14 games this season. They host Borussia Monchengladbach, who have won just one point on the road this term, on Saturday.