Dortmund Prepares for Villarreal as Kovac Addresses Training Absences

Borussia Dortmund’s preparations for their Champions League opener against Villarreal came with a minor ripple on Monday, but Niko Kovac moved quickly to smooth the surface.

Daniel Svensson and Konstantinos Karetsas were both missing from full team training on the eve of the tie, a detail that usually sends antennae twitching around a European night. Kovac, though, was having none of the drama.

“That was completely normal today,” the head coach said at his pre‑match press conference. He explained that the club had simply chosen to manage workloads. “It can happen from time to time that we let one or two players recover in the locker room or in the gym. Both are in perfect health and are options for the game.”

So no late injury scare, no selection crisis. Just calculated rest before the intensity of Europe returns.

The real setback came earlier. Filippo Mané, forced off in the first half of Dortmund’s 3–2 Bundesliga win over Hoffenheim at the weekend, will miss the Villarreal clash with a muscle injury. It is a blow, not least because the staff believed they had handled him carefully.

“We're assuming nothing else will happen before the international break. He'll certainly return after that,” Kovac said, underlining the club’s optimism about the defender’s recovery. “Unfortunately, things like this are just part of the game. In terms of training load and training management, everything was top‑notch; he had really good endurance and strength numbers.”

The numbers didn’t protect him. Now Dortmund must do without him just as the Champions League lights switch on.

Selection Problems

Selection problems do not end there. Nico Schlotterbeck and Ramy Bensebaini have both made encouraging progress in their respective recoveries, but neither can help on Tuesday night. Suspensions rule them out, stripping Kovac of two more defensive options at a time when rotation would have been welcome.

Behind them on the treatment table sit the long‑term absentees. Giannis Konstantelias and Emre Can remain unavailable, names that have been missing from team sheets long enough to feel almost abstract, yet their absence still shapes the squad’s depth chart.

So Dortmund walk into their European opener with a squad that is fit in key areas, patched up in others, and carefully managed on the training pitch. The margins at this level are thin. On Tuesday, we find out if Kovac’s balancing act holds under the weight of the Champions League.