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Erling Haaland could make his long-awaited return from injury during Borussia Dortmund’s clash with Arminia Bielefeld on Sunday, revealed head coach Marco Rose.
Haaland, who has hit 16 Bundesliga goals at a rate of just 71.56 minutes per goal this season, has not featured for second-placed Dortmund since sustaining a muscle injury six weeks ago.
But ahead of Dortmund’s home clash with relegation-battlers Arminia, Rose revealed that his top scorer could be set for a return to action, albeit from the bench.
“Erling is now pain-free, which makes him very happy,” the 45-year-old said. “He’s just happy that he’s now training with the team every day again and is in a very good mood.
“First and foremost, it’s always about health. Everything else is secondary.”
Rose did, however, say that the Norway star was unlikely to play from the start, issuing a reminder that he has been out for a “long time”, and that he was more likely to be introduced from the bench.
Bundesliga matches involving Dortmund have averaged 4.21 goals per game this season, the highest tally in the division, and BVB have actually conceded more goals (37) than Sunday’s opponents have (33), despite sitting 13 places higher in the table.
Yet, with Dortmund nine points behind leaders Bayern Munich with a game in hand, Rose seemed content with his side’s progress, and hoped to deliver one last push for the title during the run-in.
“Despite some weaker games, we have also delivered some spectacles,” Rose said. “The fans have always pushed us with their feedback.
“That’s what I’d like to see from Sunday onwards, so that we can push together at the end of the season.”
Elsewhere, Haaland’s return could be accompanied by that of Giovanni Reyna, in what would be a major boost to the United States ahead of this month’s crucial World Cup qualifiers.
With just three matches left in their qualification campaign, USA are battling with Canada, Mexico, Panama, and Costa Rica for a spot in Qatar, facing each of the latter three in crucial matchups before the end of March.
