Borussia Dortmund held their first public training session of the preseason on Wednesday as 1,100 spectators gathered at their training facility in Brackel to watch the stars prepare for their next match against Arsenal.
The club reported that new signing Konstantinos Karetsas was also present, marking his first time on the field with his new team since completing a high-profile move from Genk on Monday.
Apparently, fans were excited to see the Greek starlet in action and welcomed him onto the turf to a rapturous reception while also repeatedly chanting his name.
Felix Nmecha, Jobe Bellingham and Fabio Silva were also said to have received an electric welcome from the Dortmund fans as the player engaged in their regular drills.
Yan Couto among many absent from training
There were also a few missing from the training session on Wednesday, including Yan Couto. Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano later revealed that the Brazilian has joined Serie A side Como, who had been linked with him lately.
Owing to a dearth of first-team opportunities, the full-back was linked to an exit from Signal Iduna Park this summer and has now reportedly completed a season-long loan to Cesc Fabregas' swashbuckling team.
Also missing in action was Diant Ramaj, Dortmund's reserve goalkeeper who has been linked with an exit too. The 24-year-old hadn't traveled to Japan with the squad either as he's allowed to leave the club before the deadline day on 1 September.
Injured defender Nico Schlotterbeck continues his recovery at home, so it wasn't surprising to see his name among the absentees. The Germany international picked up a hamstring injury during the 2026 FIFA World Cup with the national team and is expected to return sometime in September as the centre-back is also set to miss the first few games of the 2026-27 season for Dortmund.
Skipper Emre Can has been sidelined since an ACL injury back in March and has not achieved full fitness yet, thereby keeping him out of the preseason too. In fact, the German isn't slated to return before December, essentially missing nearly half of their new campaign too.
As for Mussa Kaba, Dortmund's third casualty, the 17-year-old continues individual rehabilitation as Dortmund aim to help the teen rebuild his physical fitness gradually instead of rushing it.
The only World Cup stars yet to return are first-choice goalkeeper Gregor Kobel and talismanic right-back Julian Ryerson, both of whom have been given an extended break for having made it until the quarter-final stage of the World Cup with Switzerland and Norway respectively.
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