James Sands will be staying in the German Bundesliga for another season.

Sands had his loan spell extended with St. Pauli for the 2025-26 season, the club announced Tuesday. The New York City FC midfielder has been sidelined since February due to a serious leg injury. 

“James had slotted in magnificently after joining us but unfortunately was then struck down by the injury,” St. Pauli manager Alexander Blessin said about Sands’ return to the club. “With his tactical understanding, flexibility and skilful tackling, he’s shown he can contribute a lot to our stability. All the better, then, that we’ll have him in the team for much longer than half a season now.”

Sands originally joined St. Pauli on loan in January and proceeded to make seven appearances for the club. The 24-year-old started in five of his seven appearances for the Bundesliga club.

Prior to joining St. Pauli, Sands made 141 combined appearances for NYCFC, becoming the first homegrown in club history to eclipse the 100+ appearance plateau.

Sands has earned 13 caps with the U.S. men’s national team to date. 

“Much of what I was hoping for when I moved to Hamburg has come to being,” Sands said in a club interview. “Settling in was made very easy for me, both in personal and footballing terms, and I’m very proud to have proved myself with the team in the Bundesliga. 

“It was obviously disappointing to miss a large part of the second half of the season, but at the same time it’s an incentive to get back on the pitch as soon as possible so we can continue what we’ve achieved together,” he added.

St. Pauli guaranteed Bundesliga survival last weekend, finishing three points clear of the relegation zone.