Borussia Dortmund have revealed their squad for the Champions League clash against Bodo/Glimt tonight as Nico Schlotterbeck misses out.
The defender had sustained a ligament damage while on international duty with Germany but recovered sooner than expected and played full 90 minutes of their league draw with Werder Bremen, even scoring late on.
Despite this, the BVB opted to leave out Schlotterbeck from their trip to Norway on account of workload management.
Dortmund are taking it easy with Schlotterbeck
Sporting director Lars Ricken revealed that the club is helping him get back into the fold after having only returned from a lengthy injury last month.
"He had a long injury lay-off, came back relatively quickly, even before the international break. Then he got injured again while on international duty and immediately played for us again. Now it's simply a matter of easing him back into action a bit."
Schlotterbeck succumbed to an ankle injury at the 2026 FIFA World Cup during Germany's second group fixture against Ivory Coast and was sidelined for almost three months. He missed the entire preseason campaign for Dortmund as well as their first five official games of the season.
He returned to action for the first time on 12 September against Paderborn and played the full match against VfB Stuttgart the following week too.
As Dortmund are currently going through a busy schedule, the club isn't taking any risks with their star player, who hasn't has the chance to build momentum due to fitness issues.
Schlotterbeck delivered a strong performance at both ends of the pitch on Friday against Werder Bremen and Ricken added that he will return for their next league clash.
"He will be back with us for the (Bundesliga) match against Union Berlin (on Saturday)."
It's clear that Dortmund are prioritizing Bundesliga games over Champions League fixtures when it comes to Schlotterbeck. For the League Phase of the European showpiece, their goal is to merely reach the knockout stages. But things are heating up in the league.
The late collapse against Bremen saw the BVB cede top spot in the top-flight table after Freiburg stole a march over them by virtue of goal-difference. Dortmund are cautious against slipping up again and want to preserve their defensive ace for the Bundesliga.
The return of Ryerson
Julian Ryerson was another player who returned from international duties with an injury as the full-back aggravated a rib problem and had to leave Norway's squad. He subsequently sat out of Dortmund's league game against Bremen on Friday but makes a return for their Champions League clash tonight.
Ryerson has traveled with the squad to his home country, although it remains to be seen if he starts in the XI or will be named among the substitutes.
In a further selection boost for Niko Kovac, Carney Chukwuemeka also returns for Dortmund. The midfielder had muscle issues after wrapping up international committments with Austria and he too missed the game on Friday.
Add us as a preferred source on Google