Erling Haaland back as Borussia Dortmund get ready for return to training

Borussia Dortmund will be boosted by the return of Erling Haaland as they begin their preparations for this weekend’s game against Wolfsburg.

The short winter break is over and Borussia Dortmund will be back in Bundesliga action this weekend. The players had five days off and will return to team training on Tuesday after undergoing COVID-19 tests on Monday. Both Ruhr Nachrichten and Kicker report that Erling Haaland will return to training after missing the last seven games with a torn muscle fibre.

Haaland’s absence was heavily felt by Borussia Dortmund, as they won just three of the seven games he missed. The 20 year old has 17 goals in 14 appearances in all competitions so far this season. And he will have to hit the ground running as the Black and Yellows look to claw their way back into the title race.

Kicker add that Youssoufa Moukoko will also return to training after missing the DFB Pokal second round tie against Eintracht Braunschweig with an injury. Borussia Dortmund head of licensed players department Sebastian Kehl told Ruhr Nachrichten:

"“We hope that all the players have been able to recharge their batteries a bit, have come through the holidays healthy and we can start working on some of the things we need to improve. We want to improve significantly in the new year, perform more consistently and thus be more successful. The upcoming training sessions should lay the foundation for that.”"

Borussia Dortmund face a tough run of fixtures in the Bundesliga in January, with games against VfL Wolfsburg, RB Leipzig, Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Mönchengladbach all coming up. Edin Terzic’s side are fifth in the Bundesliga standings going into the new year, eight points behind league leaders Bayern Munich.

While Haaland and Moukoko are set to return, Borussia Dortmund will be without Thorgan Hazard for the next few weeks. The Belgian winger suffered another muscle injury just minutes into his return to action against Eintracht Braunschweig, and will now be out for ‘several weeks’.