Borussia Dortmund has the non -enviable task to work out how to stop Barcelona in the quarter -finals of the Champions League, and now they will be forced to do this without demonstrably contributing to the player who has contributed the most to it. Central defender Nico Schlotterbeck is excluded for the rest of the season and will miss both collisions with Barcelona as such.
Schlotterbeck has been an important part of their backline this season and one of their most reliable attendees this season, but the German International will be out of operation for a few months. Dortmund announced on Monday afternoon that Schlotterbeck had torn his meniscus.
His absence is exacerbated by four more that manager Nico Kovac has to contend with, including defensive partner Niklas Sule, who, according to MD, will probably not make the competition. There is also considerable doubt about Marcel Sabitzer, who played an important role in the middle of the field, and performed well against Barcelona in the competition phase. Sabitzer is generally collaborated by Pascal Gross in midfield, but he is suspended for the first stage, leaving a difficult gap to fill in the center of the field. In the left back, Rami Bensabaini was also picked up against Freiburg on Saturday and his presence is doubtful.
Almugera Kabar replaced Bensabaini against Freiburg, while Carney Chukwuemeka played instead of Sabitzer. Felix Nmecha and Salih Ozan are other alternatives in the middle, especially if Sabitzer does not return in time.
Of course, Barcelona itself has to do with a similar number of important absences, although they have become without them. Captain Marc-Andre Ter Stegen has been skillfully replaced by Wojciech Szczesny, while midfielders Marc Casado, Marc Bernal and Dani Olmo are all out of operation. Olmo could return for the second stage, but replacing him is the most important debate for Hansi Flick on Wednesday evening, with Fermin Lopez and Gavi Chief Candidates to do this.
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