Marco Rose gives update on injured Borussia Dortmund players ahead of Mainz clash

Borussia Dortmund had to make do without several important players against Arminia Bielefeld. And Marco Rose hopes to welcome a few players back for Wednesday’s trip to Mainz 05.

Borussia Dortmund have been plagued by a number of injury problems this season. And their unprecedented injury crisis continued on Sunday as a number of first-team regulars were forced to miss the 1-0 win over Arminia Bielefeld in the Bundesliga.

Marco Reus (sick), Mats Hummels, Raphael Guerreiro (Covid-19), Manuel Akanji (back in training), Dan-Axel Zagadou (torn muscle fibre), Youssoufa Moukoko (torn hamstring), Thomas Meunier (thigh) and Steffen Tigges (broken ankle) all missed Sunday’s game.

While Meunier, Moukoko, Zagadou and Tigges will remain sidelined for a while, there is hope that Akanji, Hummels and Guerreiro could return to action as early as Wednesday.

The Black and Yellows are set to take on Mainz 05 in their rearranged Bundesliga fixture on Wednesday evening. The game was previously postponed after a Covid-19 outbreak in the Mainz 05 camp. And head coach Marco Rose gave an update on his injured players following the win over Arminia Bielefeld on Sunday.

"“Marco Reus is still sick at home. Mats Hummels and Raphael Guerreiro are already doing better,” Rose said. “They’ll have the chance to test themselves free in the next few days. Then, of course, we have to wait for the medical tests. Of course, then we’ll have to see how much they’ve trained and whether it’s actually worth taking them along.”“Manuel Akanji is doing quite well in rehab training. But there are not many days left until the Mainz game, so we’ll see if we can get him ready to play. Otherwise he will definitely be an option for Köln.”"

Erling Haaland and Gio Reyna both came off the bench on Sunday after recovering from their respective injuries, in what is a big boost to Borussia Dortmund’s hopes of winning their remaining nine games of the season. It is unlikely that the duo will be able to play from the start on Wednesday, but they will certainly get some playing time as they look to work their way back to full fitness.