DPA/Berlin
The renewed injury to Borussia Dortmund’s Germany international Marco Reus could pave the way for Shinji Kagawa to make his comeback on Saturday in the Bundesliga. |
The Japan midfielder, who is back at Dortmund after two years at Manchester United, will be a candidate in midfield for coach Juergen Klopp for the visit of Freiburg.
Reus suffered an injury to his left ankle in stoppage time in Germany’s 2-1 defeat of Scotland in Sunday’s Euro 2016 qualifier in Dortmund and is expected to be sidelined for four weeks.
Reus’s bad fortune - injuring the same ankle which put him out of the World Cup - is an opportunity for Klopp to call on Kagawa, who completed a return to Dortmund just before the end of the September 1 transfer deadline.
Kagawa, 25, a fan favourite in Dortmund where he played from 2010 to 2012, will also be keen to experience familiar Bundesliga surrounds before a capacity Signal Iduna Park crowd after failing to establish himself at Old Trafford.
Kagawa is just one option for Klopp, who may want to give his new signing more time to work on fitness levels.
However the last-minute acquisition could turn out to be a fortunate one for the coach, who is also still without Ilkay Guendogan and has fellow midfielder Nuri Sahin out for an estimated two months after undergoing knee surgery.
“We have to give Kagawa time,” chief executive Hans-Joachim Watzke was quoted by Die Welt as saying.
“He was our number 10 (playmaker) in very successful years and it is clear that he fires people’s imaginations. But we won’t be overburdening him with expectations.”
Reus will have to be replaced for probably at least four Bundesliga matches as well as against Arsenal and Anderlecht in the Champions League.
“We simply have to function and get the points without him,” Klopp said. “It could have been worse. Of course I am very sorry for Marco, but four weeks will soon go by.”
Whether or not Kagawa plays on Saturday “the fact is he has not forgotten how to play,” Watzke said. “It’s just that a bit of self-confidence has gone, although he did not play as little in England as many believe.”
Kagawa will get the support in Dortmund. “The people here have longed for him for two years. What’s happening right now with him is a giant hype.”