Sebastian Kehl expects Gregor Kobel, Mahmoud Dahoud to be fit for 1860 Munich tie

Sebastian Kehl expects Gregor Kobel and Mahmoud Dahoud to be available as Borussia Dortmund go up against 1860 Munich in the DFB-Pokal on Friday.

Borussia Dortmund are set to get the 2022/23 season underway on Friday as they take on third division side 1860 Munich in the first round of the DFB-Pokal (kick-off at 19:45 CEST). The Black and Yellows have some personnel concerns ahead of the game, with a number of players recovering from injuries.

Gregor Kobel and Mahmoud Dahoud both missed Borussia Dortmund’s pre-season friendly against Villarreal on Friday due to minor knocks. And sporting director Sebastian Kehl is confident that the duo will be fit in time for Friday’s season opener.

"In an interview with Ruhr Nachrichten, Kehl said: “We took both out deliberately and did not want to take any risks there. As of today, however, there shouldn’t be a problem with either of them for the game in Munich.”"

While Kobel and Dahoud are expected to be available for Friday’s DFB-Pokal tie, there are a number of players who could miss out for Edin Terzic’s side.

New signing Salih Özcan suffered a knock in training and wasn’t able to train with the team during the recently concluded Bad Ragaz training camp as a result. Ruhr Nachrichten add that the defensive midfielder is expected to significantly increase his training workload this week.

Meanwhile, Emre Can and Gio Reyna returned to team training last week following their respective injuries. And Mateu Morey was on the bench for Borussia Dortmund’s pre-season games against Valencia and Villarreal. But it remains to be seen if the trio will be available for Friday’s trip to Munich.

Highly rated left-back Tom Rothe is also dealing with muscular problems at the moment, and missed the pre-season friendlies against Valencia and Villarreal.