The personnel situation at Borussia Dortmund remains problematic in the final phase of the season. Against VfL Wolfsburg, BVB will once again have to do without numerous professionals. At least one left-back returns to the squad – and will probably have to play again straight away.
It’s almost a ritual at Borussia Dortmund’s weekly press conferences: The first question to coach Marco Rose always revolves around personnel: Who is available? Who is dropping out? Whose deployment is shaky? When answering these questions, the 45-year-old sometimes has to resort to a note prepared in advance as an aide-mémoire, so extensive is the list of absentees for the Black and Yellows.
Dahoud is being treated conservatively
Also before the home match against VfL Wolfsburg, Rose had to list some names again, but this time he managed without a note. It was already clear beforehand that Mats Hummels (thigh muscle injury), Giovanni Reyna (thigh muscle and tendon injury) and Mahmoud Dahoud (dislocated shoulder), who had been substituted injured in the 2:0 win in Stuttgart, would not be an option for Saturday. In the case of the latter, however, there was a decisive update: Rose announced that Dahoud would not undergo surgery. The injury will be treated conservatively, after which the midfielder is to be reintegrated.
Schulz could benefit
Striker Donyell Malen is also still out of the squad, struggling with persistent tendon problems. Raphael Guerreiro, who also left the pitch early in Stuttgart, could still join the ranks of the injured. Contrary to hopes expressed in midweek, the Portuguese has not yet been able to return to training. “We are still waiting for Friday, but the tendency is that we will have to do without him,” Rose said on Thursday. Left-back Nico Schulz would benefit from the absence, who in turn is fully integrated back into training after a break of several weeks due to injury – unlike right-back Felix Passlack, for whom Rose could “not yet give the green light”.
Haaland bites his teeth
And there is another problem child, a very prominent one at that: Erling Haaland. The striker continues to have pain in his ankle – and if one interprets Rose’s words correctly, it is most likely due to the fact that he suffered a ligament injury in the international match against Armenia. However, since the Norwegian did not want to have any pictures taken, BVB is to a certain extent in the dark and has to rely on the signals from the attacker. And they have been positive lately, Rose reported: “Erling has tried very professionally to deal with the swelling. Not everything is optimal yet, but it is getting better. He is biting his teeth, so it should work. “
In view of the long list of absentees, it is conceivable that players from the club’s own substructure will once again fill out the squad – for example Jamie Bynoe-Gittens, who was already part of the squad in Stuttgart but did not make an appearance there. However, it would not be an alternative to deliberately spare one of the three players with four yellow cards (Marius Wolf, Emre Can and Axel Witsel) against Wolfsburg in order to have them available for the match against Munich. “We want to win against Wolfsburg,” said Rose, “for that we need basic aggression on the pitch and also the strengths of the players who have been given a yellow card. “