Sahin provides comprehensive squad update ahead of Friday fixture
The Dortmund Gaffer spoke specifically on Yan Couto, Julian Ryerson, Niklas Süle, Maximilian Beier, and Serhou Guirassy.
| Nuri Sahin | Borussia Dortmund |
Borussia Dortmund look to shake off an upset loss against Union Berlin just prior to the international break and get back on track with a home win against FC St. Pauli this weekend. Germany's "Schwarzgleben" host the Friday night match-day seven curtain raiser in two days' time. BVB trainer Nuri Sahin provided squad updates at his Wednesday pre-match press conference.
Sahin unfortunately looks to have some difficulty staffing his defensive corps. Brazilian right back Yan Couto, the BVB gaffer revealed, is a definite out due to a muscular injury. Couto - who has started under Sahin in the last three competitive fixtures - will also miss next Tuesday's Champions' League tie against Real Madrid.
Two potential Couto replacements - the versatile Julian Ryerson and capable of serving at right-back Niklas Süle - are also struggling with injuries. Sahin noted that, in the case of Süle in particular, it would be a "race against time" to see if the German international could be fit in time for Friday. Sahin also furnished updates on his two strikers.
Maximilian Beier - sent home early from Germany U21 international duty after catching a cold - certainly won't be an option to start on Friday night. Beier should nevertheless see some playing time over the course of the next two matches as, Sahin noted, it remained important to manage Serhou Guirassy's workload after the 28-year-old returned from a taxing tour of international duty with Guinea.
Sahin revealed that the Guinean footballing association - at the request of Guirassy's German club - didn't place the injury-prone forward under too much pressure. The BVB trainer then added that Dortmund would actively seek to minimize the risk of injury to their leading goal-scorer by not asking too much of him.
"I'm glad the [Guinean] association agreed not to deploy him for two 90-minute-long shifts," Sahin said, "Serhou will start on Friday. We'll see whether we have to take it easy on him and give him a break. But mentally and physically, he's doing well."