Lucien Favre delighted to have Marco Reus back from injury

Marco Reus made his Borussia Dortmund return on Monday after a seven month injury lay-off. And Lucien Favre spoke about his captain’s return after the game.

Playing his first game since February, Marco Reus scored a stunning solo goal during Borussia Dortmund’s 2-1 pre-season friendly win over Sparta Rotterdam. Reus also hit the post and put in a good shift before being substituted in the 70th minute. And head coach Lucien Favre said after the game that he is very happy to have the 31 year old fully fit and back in action.

"“It was his first game since February and we are all happy that he is back,” Favre told Sky. “He is physically ready. We asked him at halftime if he would be able to continue playing and he said ‘yes’. It’s good that he played 70 minutes straight.”"

New signing Reinier Jesus also made his first appearance for Borussia Dortmund. The Brazilian forward was substituted at half time, and Favre said that he is not physically ready to play 90 minutes yet.

"“It was difficult today. It was his first game in a long time. We still have to find his position. He still needs his time. He cannot be physically ready yet either. He had two injuries in Madrid and needs his time.”"

After playing with four at the back for the majority of pre-season, Borussia Dortmund finally switched to the back three system today. And Favre hinted after the game that he could go with the three-chain defence as it is better for his squad.

"“We can also play other systems sometimes. We also train several systems. Of course we played a good second half of the season with this system (back three). It might be better to play with this system with our squad – but we also have to be able to play with the chain of four.”"

The Swiss tactician also praised the performance of Marius Wolf, who set up Immanuel Pherai’s goal, which made it 2-0 for the Black and Yellows. “Marius always gives everything. He has a fantastic mentality and goes on and on,” Favre said. Wolf is reportedly free to leave Borussia Dortmund this summer, with Hertha Berlin and AS Monaco reportedly keen on signing him.

With pre-season now over, Borussia Dortmund and Lucien Favre have a week to prepare for their first competitive game of the new season. They take on MSV Duisburg in the first round of the DFB Pokal next Monday, before facing Borussia Mönchengladbach on Matchday 01 of the Bundesliga just five days later.