For months Giovanni Reyna has been working towards this moment, and on Sunday it could finally be the case: The Borussia Dortmund youngster is set to make his squad return after an injury lay-off of almost six months – much to the delight of BVB coach Marco Rose.
A video that gives courage
Twelve seconds of video footage are enough to give you an idea of why they at Borussia Dortmund, together with Giovanni Reyna, have been so eager for the US American’s return in recent weeks and months. BVB itself recently distributed the short clip digitally via its English-language Twitter channel – which teammate Mats Hummels might not have found quite so funny.
Because in the snippet, which was recorded during training last week, Reyna’s special skills can be seen – and Hummels is his victim. In the uncut video, the 19-year-old scores no less than three goals in a small-goal practice against his colleague 14 years his senior, two of which are preceded by a leg kick, the maximum penalty for a footballer.
Rose gushes about Reyna
No wonder Marco Rose is raving ahead of the game against Leverkusen, where Reyna is expected to be back despite a cold in midweek. “I’m happy, I really have to say that. To see Gio in training, how he finds the spaces, how he solves one-on-one situations, how he also works against the ball: It’s nice that we have this quality player back. That’s important for us.” And important for Reyna, who has had to wait since early September for his return to match action.
The youngster had injured himself during an international trip with the US team at the time. The muscle injury slowed him down abruptly after a really good start to the season at BVB – and it slowed him down much longer than was initially expected. Not only the muscle, but also the tendon involved caused problems, the rehabilitation process was interrupted again and again, and he had to start again and again.
“Gio has had a difficult time. He was out for several months because of an injury, which has kept him very busy. He is a very, very young player who also had to learn how to deal with it. It took a bit of time and a lot of talks,” says Sebastian Kehl. Dortmund’s manager of professional players admits that it was noticeable during this time “that it does something to a boy when he can’t train with the team for so long”. But now Reyna is on “a really good path”. And that’s good, because: “We missed him. His creativity, his scoring threat, and his slyness to move between the lines. “
Good line to Rose
Reyna had started the preparation with a lot of verve in the summer and had established a connection with Rose early on, who kept taking him aside and helping him improve, especially in his work against the ball. The midfielder accepted the tips and put them into practice. The reward followed promptly: In the first five competitive games, Reyna was always in the starting eleven (two goals, one assist) – then came the fateful trip to the US team and a long period of suffering. But that, it seems, is now over.
