Borussia Dortmund teams news: Witsel, Can doubts for derby, Reus, Zagadou ruled out, Sancho not 100%

Borussia Dortmund could be without a number of key players for their crunch derby clash against Schalke 04 this weekend.

According to Kicker, midfielders Axel Witsel and Emre Can have been struggling for days with muscular problems that have prevented them from taking part in team training, and could force them to miss Borussia Dortmund’s weekend clash against Schalke 04. In addition, the Black and Yellows will definitely be without captain Marco Reus (back in training) and defender Dan Axel Zagadou (out with a knee ligament injury) for the derby.

If those blows weren’t enough, Lucien Favre will also be sweating on the fitness of Jadon Sancho, who has not yet returned to 100% fitness after struggles with muscular problems. While Achraf Hakimi, Manuel Akanji, Mario Götze and Marcel Schmelzer also missed training on Saturday. However, Akanji and Götze did return to training earlier today. While Reus and Witsel trained individually at the club’s Brackel training centre.

Being without Witsel and Can would be a big blow to Borussia Dortmund’s hopes of beating Schalke this weekend. The duo had developed a great partnership before football came to a halt in March. Without them, Lucien Favre would have to call upon Thomas Delaney, who hasn’t played since November, and only just returned to training last month. Julian Brandt could also return to his favourite number eight role.

Borussia Dortmund return to action this weekend looking to resume their Bundesliga title bid. Der BVB are currently four points behind leaders Bayern Munich, with nine games still to be played.