Borussia Dortmund quartet back in training ahead of crucial run of fixtures

Borussia Dortmund have been handed a big boost ahead of this weekend’s Bundesliga clash against Arminia Bielefeld, with several injured players back in team training. Dan-Axel Zagadou, Thorgan Hazard, Roman Bürki and Lukasz Piszczek all took part in Tuesday’s training session.

Both Zagadou and Bürki have been out since January, while Hazard hasn’t played since December, and Piszczek has missed the last three games. Although it remains to be seen if the quartet will be available for Saturday’s Bundesliga home game against Arminia Bielefeld, their returns come at a vital time for Borussia Dortmund.

The Black and Yellows have crunch games coming up in all three competitions, with tough fixtures against Borussia Mönchengladbach (DFB-Pokal), Bayern Munich (Bundesliga) and Sevilla (Champions League) right around the corner.

Edin Terzic will be especially hoping to have Zagadou available as soon as possible, with Manuel Akanji now facing a spell on the sidelines. The Swiss international suffered a torn muscle fibre in his right thigh in the win over Sevilla last week, and will be out of action for the next few weeks. Emre Can played at centre-back in the absence of Akanji against Schalke on Saturday.

Thomas Delaney also did not train on Tuesday after taking a knock on his foot, but he is currently not a doubt for Saturday’s game. Axel Witsel and Marcel Schmelzer remain out for the time being.

Borussia Dortmund are currently sixth in the Bundesliga standings, six points behind Eintracht Frankfurt (who occupy fourth place). The Black and Yellows also hold a 3-2 lead over Sevilla in their Champions League round of 16 tie heading into next month’s second leg in Dortmund.