Borussia Dortmund is hoping for a return from striker Erling Haaland before the winter break. “We are cautiously optimistic that Erling will be on the field again this year,” said coach Marco Rose before the home game against VfB Stuttgart on Saturday (3:30 pm in the live ticker).
The Norwegian striker is currently out due to a hip flexor muscle injury. The top game against league leaders Bayern Munich on December 4th could come too early for Haaland.
Overall, however, the personal situation is easing somewhat. According to Rose, Raphael Guerreiro is “fit” again and therefore an option for the starting line-up against Stuttgart. Emre Can is also available again, but only for a “short term”. Youngster Youssoufa Moukoko is also in the squad against VfB.
Rose expects Mahmoud Dahoud to return to the Champions League next Wednesday, Nico Schulz and Maris Wolf are “the next players to come back”.
BVB: “Weeks of truth” are ahead
For the second in the table, it is the start of groundbreaking weeks. After the game against Stuttgart, Sporting Lisbon is about to make it to the round of 16 of the Champions League.
In the league, the games in Wolfsburg and against Bayern are on. “We can steer a lot of things in the right direction in the next days and weeks,” said Rose.
VfB does not want to take any risks with Silas
VfB can sing a song about personnel problems. Chris Führich, Erik Thommy and Silas Katompa Mvumpa cannot participate in Dortmund. The coach Pellegrino Matarazzo announced on Friday.
The Swabians don’t want to take any chances with Silas, who had been out for a long time due to a torn cruciate ligament. “He only got into full team training this week,” said Matarazzo.
There is still a question mark behind striker Omar Marmoush and defender Marc Oliver Kempf. Konstantinos Mavropanos, however, returns.
Matarazzo is still hoping for a surprise at the first Bayern pursuer. “It is always a special moment to play there. We have enough quality and the belief in what we can do,” he said.
