Borussia Dortmund are in action against Eintracht Frankfurt tonight at the Signal Iduna Park for their clash in the Bundesliga.
The BVB are looking to recover from consecutive draws against Werder Bremen and Union Berlin which have upset the momentum they built after winning their opening four clashes.
It has allowed their arch-rivals Bayern Munich to draw level with them on points while occupying first position on goal-difference too as Dortmund's title credentials were once again called into question.
Tonight, Niko Kovac's side is looking to return to winning ways in the Bundesliga again against a struggling Frankfurt side that's down in 12th place in the league standings and won only twice.
Kovac has almost the entire squad at his disposal, but revealed the names of two players who missed their last training session before the kick-off.
Speaking to the press, he revealed:
"So far, so good. All the lads were at training, apart from Kosta and Kaua. Kaua had some minor muscle problems. Everyone else is ready to play."
Konstantinos Karetsas twisted his ankle last weekend while trying to escape Union Berlin's Rani Khedira near the byline in his second fitness concern in two months after having collapsed during their Champions League game against Villarreal due to a circulation problem.
While he missed just one game last time out, the Greek gun is set to miss his second since that knock, as Karetsas sat out of their trip to Baku on Tuesday, missing their win over Sabah FK in the Champions League.
Kovac's revelation now confirm that he will remain unavailable for the clash tonight against Frankfurt although there's still no indication of whether he can make it for their midweek German Cup encounter against Werder Bremen.
Kaua Prates is the latest injury concern for Dortmund. The Brazilian, a regular during their preseason campaign, has hardly played in the season proper. His muscle issue won't help his case either, as the young defender won't even make it to the bench tonight.
Signed on a €7 million transfer from Brazilian side Cruzeiro this summer, Prates has made just three appearances for his new club, one each in the Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal and Champions League, but clocked just 46 minutes in total.
Besides them, Dortmund would also be missing in the long-term absentees Emre Can, Giannis Konstantelias and Justin Lerma. Can and Konstantelias are both recovering from an ACL injury and aren't expected to return before 2027, while Lerma is nursing a serious muscle problem.
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