This Monday saw the Borussia Dortmund first team commence their preparations for the second half of the 2021/22 season, with the players put through the usual series of tests and performance diagnostics.

With the short Christmas break now over, the athletic coaches first reviewed the individual parameters of the players, who had been working with individual fitness plans during the break. Then it was back on the training pitch for the first time this year: the goalkeepers kicked proceedings off, before the outfield players completed several exercises with the ball in small groups. The programme for the day was staggered and the individual players spent the shortest possible time at the training ground in a bid to manage the current pandemic situation as well as possible. 

The Black & Yellows will be without two players – long-term injury absentee Mateu Morey, who is still working individually, and Dan-Axel Zagadou, who is unavailable after testing positive for the coronavirus – in the week leading up to their first competitive match of the year against Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday. (cr)