Dortmund fans had their hearts in their mouth after seeing Konstantinos Karetsas get stretchered off the pitch during BVB's UEFA Champions League clash against Villarreal.
Having already lost his Greek compatriot Giannis Konstantelias to a torn ACL injury on the opening day of the Bundesliga season, it seemed like they've been hit with a double whammy.
However, post-game comments by Niko Kovac and others allayed any injury concerns as Karetsas was revealed to have suffered just a circulation problem.
He did, however, miss their next game against Paderborn. But now, after over a week's rest, the 18-year-old is gearing up for a return.
In his latest address to the press, Kovac revealed how he's been keeping up in training lately. He said:
"He’s in good spirits, laughing, happy, and enjoying training."
Kovac's words indicate Karetsas has attained match fitness again and could be traveling with the squad to Stuttgart tomorrow, in contention to feature at the MHPArena.
His availability is a massive selection boost for the manager, who although would be cautious against throwing him at the deep end right away. Karetsas may as well come off the bench if Kovac doesn't want to rush him into action right upon returning.
Signed on a 30 million euro transfer from Belgian side Gent, the teenager has enjoyed a wonderful start to life at the club and will be raring to get going again this weekend in their last game before the international break.
Bensebaini in line to start?
Last weekend, Dortmund were bolstered with the return of key defenders Nico Schlotterbeck and Ramy Bensebaini although only of them started the match. Schlotterbeck was reinstated back to his usual place on the left side of the three-man backline but got subbed off after 77 minutes to manage workload.
His Algerian counterpart replaced him for the last few minutes but got some valuable gametime under his belt. Now, Bensebaini too could be in line to start on Saturday, as Kovac said:
"They handled everything well and are fit and ready to play this weekend."
On Schlotterbeck, he said:
"Schlotti was injured for a very long time, and the last game was his first in over 60 or 70 minutes. It was important for him to get that feeling back. It was his wish to return as quickly as possible and also to be part of the national team. It’s better for him to train there than here in a very small group."
Nico Schlotterbeck has been called up to Germany's national team by Jurgen Klopp.
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