Shortly before his double anniversary, Erling Haaland has to accept a bitter setback: The goal scorer will miss Borussia Dortmund for several weeks. And there are more injuries.
In the midst of coming to terms with the 0:4 defeat in the Champions League at Ajax Amsterdam, BVB was shaken by shock news. Erling Haaland has suffered a hip flexor injury “which makes it impossible for him to play”, Marco Rose explained at Friday’s pre-match press conference at Arminia Bielefeld.
Haaland (six league appearances, nine goals, four assists), who was targeting his 50th Bundesliga game and 50th Bundesliga goal on Saturday (3.30pm, LIVE! on kicker), had already been out against Gladbach and Augsburg as well as in the top flight against Sporting Lisbon, with that in mind the coach now said: “It’s the same thigh, just a different spot.” Rose was unable to say whether it was even a direct follow-up injury: “I’m not a doctor. “
One thing is clear: “We will miss him for a few weeks,” said Rose. He didn’t want to be more specific, but when asked, he added: “It will take a bit of time.” The Norwegian FA said Haaland would also miss the crucial World Cup qualifiers against Latvia and in the Netherlands (13 and 16 November), quoting team doctor Ola Sand: “The injury needs time. At least three, four weeks, maybe longer.”
Haaland, Rose reported, was “really down” on Wednesday, especially as he had “felt really good after the game against Mainz” when he scored twice on his comeback. The situation was “not good for us and not nice for the boy, but Erling will get all the support he needs from us and will also complete his rehab here with us”.
Schulz and Meunier injured – Dahoud still needs time
How he plans to compensate for Haaland’s absence, at least in the short term, against Bielefeld? “We have to tinker,” said Rose, who has two more absentees to deal with. One is a left-back, the other a right-back: Nico Schulz will probably have to rest for at least two weeks due to a torn muscle fibre, Thomas Meunier suffered a bruise on his foot against Ajax and will definitely miss the game in Bielefeld. Mahmoud Dahoud will also “not play a role yet” after straining his knee ligament. Combative, Rose said: “We still see the chance to win a Bundesliga game in Bielefeld. “
