Jürgen Klopp called the injury of Armenian midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan “the worst thing that could have happened to us” because it leaves the Dortmund coach short of options for Wednesday’s home game against VfB Stuttgart (kick-off 2000 CET). But there is also good news on the injury front as Mats Hummels, Neven Subotic and Dong-Won Ji are all set to return to the squad.

An early return for Ilkay Gündogan, however, has been ruled out by Klopp who was visibly annoyed by media reports suggesting otherwise. “The day Ilkay Gündogan will return to action will be a great day for everyone.  But 14 months on the sidelines are 14 months. We will stay calm, despite our injury worries.”

The Dortmund coach has also all but ruled out a 90-minute appearance from Mats Hummels, saying, “This position is the least of our worries.” BVB’s new captain, however, is still expected to return to the squad for the first time this season but will have to do “some extra work” in the final training session on Tuesday as well as in the warm-down on Thursday morning, according to Klopp.

Neven Subotic will be available again for first-team action while Dong-Won Ji is also likely to be back in the squad, with Under-23 player’s Joseph Gyau and Mitsuro Maruoka taking part in the final training on Tuesday. Maruoka, an 18-year-old Japanese player who played for BVB’s U19 team in the UEFA Youth League last week, is highly regarded by Klopp: “I’m very pleased with him. He’s a great lad and was a bright spot in the final minutes [of the Mainz match].”