Borussia Dortmund criticise Portugal’s decision to call up injured Raphael Guerreiro

Borussia Dortmund have been left annoyed by the Portugal Football Association’s decision to call-up Raphael Guerreiro for the upcoming international break, even though the left-back is dealing with an injury. Guerreiro has missed the Black and Yellows’ last four games with a calf injury, which he suffered in the game against Borussia Mönchengladbach earlier this month.

Despite his injury, Guerreiro has been called up by Portugal for the upcoming international break. The reason given by the Portugal FA is that their medical personnel want to examine the injury for themselves. And so the 27 year old will now have to travel all the way to his national team camp in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, only to most likely return to Dortmund after getting examined by the doctors.

Borussia Dortmund sporting director Michael Zorc has described the Portugal FA’s decision to call up Guerreiro as “senseless.” While head of players department Sebastian Kehl has said that they simply cannot understand the decision.

"“Raphael Guerreiro has not been able to train with the team for the last two weeks,” Kehl told Ruhr Nachrichten. “Why the Portuguese federation is still calling him up is not clear to us and we simply cannot understand it especially against the backdrop of the pandemic.”"

This is not the first time the Borussia Dortmund bosses have been left angered by the Portugal national team. During the 2017 Confederations Cup, the Portugal doctors failed to diagnose Guerreiro’s broken foot and said that he had only suffered serious bruising. Ultimately, he needed surgery on his left foot and was out for months.

Guerreiro is one of ten Borussia Dortmund players who will be away on international duty. The BVB management and fans will have their fingers crossed that none of the players get injured or test positive for COVID-19 over the next two weeks.