Nuri Sahin will probably have to reorganize his defense in several positions at short notice for the restart against Leverkusen. Only Yannik Lührs is available to the coach as a trained central defender
Emre Can and Nico Schlotterbeck threaten to miss the first home game of the year against Leverkusen.
IMAGO/Sven Simon
Those who watched Dortmund’s players board the team bus on Friday may have been quite surprised. Not by the actors who got on board, but rather by those who didn’t. So a report was missing Ruhr News according to Waldemar Anton, Nico Schlotterbeck, Emre Can, Ramy Bensebaini and also substitute goalkeeper Alexander Meyer. While the former had already been missing during the week due to a flu-like infection, the remaining quartet was now also affected.
Top game and transfers: This is how BVB starts the new year
The Bundesliga returns with a bang on Friday: Borussia Dortmund hosts Bayer Leverkusen. Both teams want to catch up. What is important here – and will Borussia step up its game on the transfer market?
01/09/25 – 12:09 p.m
13:20 minutes
Therefore, Dortmund goes into the opener against Leverkusen (8.30 p.m., LIVE! on kicker) with a bottleneck in defense. Only Julian Ryerson is still available from the originally planned back four. The situation is particularly precarious in central defense. In addition to Schlotterbeck and Can, who was actually supposed to replace Anton, Niklas Süle is also missing due to injury (syndesmosis).
Is Lührs celebrating his starting eleven debut?
The wave of illness could help U-23 central defender Yannik Lührs make his starting eleven debut with the professionals. The 21-year-old, who moved to BVB from Hanover in 2024, has been used as a joker twice so far this season: in the 1-3 draw in Mainz (kicker rating 3.5) and in the 1-1 draw against Hoffenheim.
Almugera Kabar, however, has recovered from his infection. The 18-year-old left-back, who had been absent from training due to illness, got on the bus. Despite the personnel problems, he should take a seat on the bench. As a full-back, Sahin, who faces a major personnel puzzle, is likely to rely on Ryerson and Yan Couto.
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