Dortmund without Karetsas for cup clash with Werder – Kovac wary of Füllkrug
Dortmund will be without Konstantinos Karetsas against Bremen on Tuesday (20:45 CET). Coach Niko Kovac said: "He is not ready to play yet."
Archive image · Photo: Arne Müseler / www.arne-mueseler.com / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 de (cropped and resized)
Borussia Dortmund will be without Konstantinos Karetsas for their German Cup second-round match against Werder Bremen. "He is not ready to play yet," coach Niko Kovac said on Monday. The 18-year-old Greek was injured in a Bundesliga game at Union Berlin just over a week ago and has missed two matches since. According to Kovac, he is only just resuming running; a return for the weekend's top game at Bayern Munich is possible, dpa reported.
Tuesday's cup tie kicks off at 20:45 CET and will be broadcast by ZDF and Sky. Kovac singled out Bremen's Niclas Füllkrug, who leads the Bundesliga scoring chart with eight goals: "He is the one who stands out with his goals." The former Dortmund striker scored a stoppage-time equalizer in a 2-2 league draw against his old club.
"We are playing at home, that is certainly an advantage," Kovac said. Dortmund last reached the cup final in Berlin in May 2021.