Julian Brandt sidelined with thigh injury

Borussia Dortmund have announced that Julian Brandt will miss the next two games after picking up a thigh injury in the game against Chelsea on Tuesday.

Borussia Dortmund will have to make do without Julian Brandt for the next few weeks. The in-form midfielder sustained a muscle fibre tear in his thigh in the fifth minute of the second leg of BVB’s Champions League round of 16 tie against Chelsea. And he will now miss the Bundesliga matches against Schalke 04 and FC Köln.

It remains to be seen exactly how long Brandt will be sidelined for as a result of this injury. The international break is set to follow Borussia Dortmund’s home game against FC Köln in the Bundesliga on March 18. BVB’s next game after that will be against Bayern Munich on April 1.

Julian Brandt’s injury is a big blow for Borussia Dortmund. The 26 year old has been one of the team’s top performers since the turn of the year, and his absence was heavily felt as BVB crashed out of the Champions League on Tuesday. Brandt has nine goals and five assists to his name in 32 appearances across all competitions for the Black and Yellows this season.

Gio Reyna came on to replace Brandt against Chelsea. And chances are that we could see the USMNT international in the starting XI as Borussia Dortmund go up against Schalke 04 in the Bundesliga this weekend.

Donyell Malen and Jamie Bynoe-Gittens are the other options Edin Terzic can count on, while Karim Adeyemi and Julien Duranville also expected to return from their injuries soon.