Borussia Dortmund's Thomas Tuchel left open the future of Marcel Schmelzer's captaincy beyond 2016 as Maro Reus made his first league start in Saturday's win against Borussia Monchengladbach.
Reus, 27, acted as vice-captain to Mats Hummels in the 2015-2016 season but wasn't considered in the appointment of Hummels' successor, Tuchel told journalists after the match.
"He wasn't available when we decided who would be appointed as captain and at that point, it wasn't clear when he would return," he said.
"We didn't want to put a burden on the comeback process by starting a discussion about the captaincy, so it was clear that 'Schmelle' would receive it."
The 43-year-old, however, said the future of the Dortmund captaincy beyond 2016 had not been decided.
"Now Marco is back and he returned in fantastic fashion. The presence and perseverance he showed in the last weeks prior to his comeback were exceptional," Tuchel said.
"You can see in the way he returned that [the captaincy] isn't a topic or issue among the players. We might review this topic in the future, but definitely not before the winter break."
Reus, meanwhile, doesn't appear to be too eager to become the team's captain. Asked whether he wants to wear the armband going forward, he told Sky: "I don't care. We're all captains on this team."
The 27-year-old midfielder has given his team a significant boost since his return, as he provided two goals and four assists in three appearances in Bundesliga and Champions League.
Against his former club, the German international carried his team to success by setting up three of four goals.
Dortmund will face Real Madrid in the Champions League at the Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday with a chance to seal a first-place finish in Group F.