Jadon Sancho has been ruled out of Borussia Dortmund’s Champions League quarter-final second leg against his former club Manchester City.
The England winger is back in training after six weeks out with a thigh injury but Wednesday’s clash at Signal Iduna Park comes too soon.
The German side go into the game looking to overturn a 2-1 deficit after defeat to the Premier League leaders in the first leg at the Etihad Stadium last week.
Dortmund’s interim coach Edin Terzic said: “Jadon won’t be at our disposal, although he trained again.
“He is doing his best to return as fast as possible and we would like to have him with us tomorrow but he won’t be.
“We have to take our time with him, so he is not an option for tomorrow, but we hope it won’t last much longer for him before he comes back into the team.”
Dortmund also have doubts over the experienced pair Marco Reus – goalscorer in the first leg – and World Cup-winner Mats Hummels.
Terzic added: “There are a few players slightly injured. We will have to wait. Marco Reus and Mats Hummels needed to be substituted and leave the pitch on Saturday.
“We have another training session and we will see who will be at our disposal.”
The highly-rated Erling Haaland is likely to be key to Dortmund’s hopes of turning the tie around.
The 20-year-old Norwegian has not scored in his last six games for club or country but Terzic does not think continued speculation over the player’s future is affecting his game.
He said: “Even if he hasn’t scored in these last matches he is an important, key player for us.
“He can cause difficulties for our opponents. As we saw in the last matches, especially in the second half against Stuttgart, he did a great job.
“It is important that he scores goals and he is the key player for us.”
Terzic acknowledged his side face a tough task but believes they can prevail.
He said: “We showed a great performance at Manchester City. We showed we can play well against a strong team and we can cause them difficulties.
“It was a pity to concede the late goal and we need a victory, we know that, and it’s not enough just to focus on defensive work. We have to create something and be dangerous.
“It is going to be a hard task but we believe in it, although belief is not enough on its own. We need to show other attributes to be decisive.”
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