They say even the best laid plans of men and mice oft go awry. It's certainly been true for Carney Chukwuemeka this season, who was earmarked for a breakout campaign but finds himself on the fringes of the BVB set-up right now.
Before the international break, the midfielder appeared in just three of their seven games in all competitions and clocked a meager 78 minutes of action. No, he wasn't injured, nor faced any suspension.
With several new and talented players coming in, Niko Kovac seems to have chosen other options at his disposal now, with Joey Veerman looking increasingly appealing in the central midfield while Konstantinos Karetsas and Ethan Nwaneri rep up the attacking midfield roles.
This has pushed Chukwuemeka down the pecking order, drastically cutting his minutes on the field too. But his cameo for Austria on Thursday suggest the 22-year-old could be a valuable attacking weapon off the bench for Dortmund.
Chukwuemeka creates two chances despite limited gametime
Austrian manager Ralf Rangnick threw Chukwuemeka into their Nations League contest against Israel after 82 minutes as the BVB player replaced Romano Schmid for the closing stages.
Although its too late for a player to enter the tie, Chukwuemeka still made two key attacking involvements that led to two direct chances for the hosts: in the 84th minute, he found Phillipp Mwene on the left side of the box, although Mwene's attempt was blocked; almost a minute later, he teed up Christoph Lang, who fired a shot that Israeli goalkeeper Daniel Peretz saved.
Kovac has a reason to trust his cameos
Two chances created within two minutes of coming on. Who says Chukwuemeka is finished? He can still pick out his teammates in dangerous positions, he can still layoff perfectly-weighted balls, and he still possesses good positional awareness in attacking plays that allow him to create such chances.
These traits could be valuable for Dortmund if he's able to produce them more consistently off the bench. Kovac has anyways earned a reputation for making impact substitutions that turn the match with late goals. In Chukwuemeka, he also has someone who can create those goals.
Austria play Kosovo on Sunday
We could see more of Chukwuemeka on Sunday when Austria continue their Nations League campaign at home against Kosovo, who stunned Ireland with a late 1-0 victory on Thursday. The match promises to be an exciting attacking affair between two sides boasting a few formidable forwards.
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