DORTMUND, Germany (AP) — Borussia Dortmund faces an anxious wait to see if top scorer Erling Haaland will be fit to face Leipzig on Saturday after the Norway forward returned from international duty with a foot injury.
“His participation is very questionable, to be honest,” Dortmund coach Marco Rose said on Thursday. “Erling is always very optimistic, but the foot is big, swollen, blue. We’re working on it but there’s a big question mark.”
Haaland picked up the injury after scoring two goals during Norway’s 9-0 rout of Armenia in their friendly game on Tuesday.
The 21-year-old Haaland has already missed much of the season due to various injuries. If he can’t play on Saturday it will be the 17th game he’ll have missed this season for Dortmund due to injury. He has still managed to score 16 goals in 17 league appearances this season.
The rest of the team appears to have emerged unscathed from the international break. Gio Reyna was the last expected to return after helping the United States qualify for the World Cup despite a 2-0 loss to Costa Rica on Wednesday night.
Youssoufa Moukoko could also return after working his way back from injury.
Dortmund is six points behind Bundesliga leader Bayern Munich with seven rounds remaining. The teams meet for a potentially decisive game in Munich on April 23.
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