Jurgen Klopp says Borussia Dortmund are facing an injury crisis ahead of their clash against Mainz on Saturday, with centre-back Neven Subotic and midfield veteran Sebastian Kehl the latest doubts.
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Ilkay Gundogan, Nuri Sahin, Mats Hummels, Jakub Blaszczykowski, Marco Reus and Ji Dong-Won are all still working on comebacks from their respective injuries.
Injuries remain prominent storyline for BVB: Subotic, Kehl a doubt against Mainz #m05bvb http://t.co/9kTbEyVTHM pic.twitter.com/5VwXLr1DHt
- Borussia Dortmund (@BVB) September 18, 2014
And following Tuesday's 2-0 Champions League victory over Arsenal, BVB have even more concerns, with Lukasz Piszczek -- who did not play against the Gunners -- and Marcel Schmelzer also doubtful for the trip to Klopp's former club Mainz.
"I'm confident that we will be able to get 11 players out, but we are too short on numbers to give some players a rest," Klopp told a news conference on Thursday.
Left-back Schmelzer had cramp against Arsenal and should be fit to play on Saturday while right-back Piszczek also looks confident of a return, though Kehl and Subotic face a battle to play.
The former was substituted against Arsene Wenger's side due to muscle problems and Subotic has a groin problem, with Klopp confirming: "In [Subotic's] case it doesn't look good at all."
But things are set to improve for the injury-plagued Bundesliga club in the near future as Gundogan and Hummels have both returned to team training and are playing catch-up as they work on their fitness.
"He still needs a bit of time," Klopp said of his captain Hummels, who has not played a match since the World Cup final. "He's a tall and heavy lad. We can't just throw him in after three training sessions."
Midfielder Gundogan -- who has not played in 13 months -- is also making steady progress according to the Dortmund boss: "He looks great and is well on the way. But we first want to get him fully fit and in shape again."
On Saturday, BVB will not only face Klopp's former club, but also Jonas Hofmann, who left the club for a year-long-loan with their domestic rivals.
"I grant the club everything, but they already got 'Hoffi' this year and will not get anything else," Klopp said. "If he were still around, he would probably start for us on Saturday."