Borussia Dortmund’s players had to complete a lactate threshold test as they began their preparations for the second half of the season. A few of them, however, missed the fitness test on Tuesday.

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Kevin Kampl also had to give blood samples.

In Adrian Ramos (strained thigh), Neven Subotic, Ciro Immobile and Erik Durm (all suffering from cold or flu symptoms) as well as Henrikh Mkhitaryan (torn thigh), a total of five players were unable to take part in the fitness test at the Helmut Körnig Indoor Athletics Facility.

Subotic, Durm and Immobile are expected to complete it on Saturday morning before the team leaves for their training camp, while Ramos will not be able to commence training within the coming days due to his thigh injury, but he will travel with the team to Spain.

Mkhitaryan is expected to start jogging again this week, while Sokratis, another long-term absentee, took part in Tuesday’s fitness test, even if he’s still having some “minor problems”, according to Jürgen Klopp who also welcomed back Marco Reus on Tuesday. If the healing process runs as it should, BVB’ s attacking star will return to full training during the eight-day training camp in La Manga.

The fitness test included six three-minute runs at six different speeds (10, 12, 14, 16, 18, and 20 kilometres per hour), with the players giving their maximum effort at the last level. Blood samples were taken from their ears by a team of sports scientists after each run and during the rest periods by a team of sport scientists.

Marco Reus on road to recovery

The specialists will now examine the blood samples and measure them for accumulation of lactic acid. A high lactate concentration is usually a sign that muscles do not produce enough energy after high intensity work which can result in an over-acidification, with the muscles ceasing function as the worst-case scenario. The coaching staff will get the results of the fitness test within in the next couple of days, and based on the findings, each player will get a special fitness plan tailored to their needs.