Football
9y

Borussia Dortmund's injury problems continue following win at Galatasaray

Borussia Dortmund's impressive 4-0 Champions League win away at Galatasaray on Wednesday night was marred by fresh injuries concerns, with Sven Bender, Mats Hummels and Shinji Kagawa all limping off in the second half.

Despite strolling to victory and boasting the best record in the competition this season so far, with nine points and a goal difference of plus-nine from three games, fitness problems continue to plague Jurgen Klopp's side.

Klopp was forced into making three injury-related changes in the second half against Galatasaray. Some seven minutes after the break, injury-prone midfielder Bender fell on his elbow after a battle for the ball with Alex Telles close to the touchline.

"Manni [Bender] told me that his elbow popped out," Klopp said on ZDF TV after the match.

Bender was immediately taken to hospital for a scan, and could be set for another longer spell on the sidelines.

"Mats Hummels has muscular problems; that's why we had to take him off. The same applies to Shinji Kagawa," Klopp added during his postmatch news conference.

However, both Hummels and Kagawa should be available for the upcoming Bundesliga match at home to Hannover on Saturday, where Dortmund will be looking to collect their first three points in the league since mid-September.

Speaking at his news conference, Klopp said that while he was pleased with the scoreline in Turkey, his side could have played better than they had.

"I actually don't think it was a comfortable victory. We just scored the goals at the right time and still had to defend properly for almost the full 90 minutes," Klopp said.

"We lost possession a few times today as well, but we got back at the right moment and defended as a unit. We were also much more clinical up front than for example against Cologne. We are far away from being perfect, even if it is quite remarkable to win a Champions League match 4-0 away from home."

Dortmund have now gone without conceding a goal in over four Champions League matches -- last conceding in March, when Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo put the ball past goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller in the 57th minute of the first leg in last season's quarterfinal.

"That was an important step today, but we need to improve until Saturday," Dortmund captain Mats Hummels told ZDF. "Hannover will not play as much as Galatasaray and will sit deep and wait for the counter. We now want to show that we can master all competitions, and want to start getting the ball rolling. Today is worth nothing should we not beat Hannover."

Hummels' comments were echoed by midfielder Ilkay Gundogan, who came off the bench for Kagawa and recorded his first assist since his comeback from injury, setting up Adrian Ramos for the final goal of the night.

"The most important thing is to play like that at the weekend," he said.

Dortmund have lost four of their last five Bundesliga games and currently sit 14th in the table. Hannover, meanwhile, have collected 10 points, three more than Dortmund, but have suffered three straight defeats.

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