Dan-Axel Zagadou’s knee problems continue to persist, diagnosis still uncertain

Dan-Axel Zagadou has been injured for over a week and there is still no concrete diagnosis, which could see him stay out for longer than expected.

Borussia Dortmund central defender Dan-Axel Zagadou has been out for over a week with an injury on the same knee on which he suffered a ligament tear in April. But today, Michael Zorc has revealed that they still don’t have an exact diagnosis or timeline for Zagadou’s return. The initial expectation was that the 21 year old would be out for 2-3 weeks. Without a concrete diagnosis that could drag out a lot longer than expected as he continues to be treated by the club doctors.

Michael Zorc was very cryptic when addressing the media on the subject, saying that there were more tests that need to be done. Whether that means they don’t have a diagnosis or he is just keeping quiet and it’s possible it could be worse than expected is up to interpretation. Either way, a prolonged injury to Zagadou would be catastrophic to Dortmund’s season.

Zagadou has without a doubt improved to the point that he passed Akanji in the pecking order last season. With Dortmund already thin on central defenders, losing Zagadou to knee problems would be a massive blow.

Without Zagadou, Dortmund only have two real central defenders in Hummels and Akanji. Yes, Emre Can and Lukasz Piszczek can be used in a back three if needed but they can’t be relied on in a back four, which is apparently what Favre is looking to do.

One injury to either Hummels or Akanji and Favre would have some tough decisions to make. Outside of those options, Favre could need to rely on youngsters Maximilian Hippe and Nnamdi Collins.