Overview
- Borussia Dortmund confirmed on August 11 that Niklas Süle will miss roughly two months with a calf muscle injury sustained against Juventus in a preseason friendly.
- Süle’s layoff rules him out of next Monday’s DFB-Pokal tie against Rot-Weiss Essen, the Bundesliga opener at St. Pauli and the first two Champions League group fixtures.
- Head coach Niko Kovač now faces a centre-back pairing of stand-ins such as Ramy Bensebaini or Filippo Mané after Nico Schlotterbeck was ruled out until October with a torn meniscus.
- Dortmund must balance Süle’s rehabilitation timetable against the October 18 Der Klassiker clash with Bayern Munich in a tight early-season schedule.
- Pundits have criticized the club for entering the campaign without a new specialist centre-back despite long-anticipated injury risks.