Long-term absence for 'Schlotty' | OneFootball

Borussia Dortmund's Nico Schlotterbeck ruled out for six months with knee injury

Nico Schlotterbeck will be out of action for an extended period of time after suffering a torn meniscus in his left knee, Borussia Dortmund have confirmed.

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The news comes shortly before Dortmund's UEFA Champions League quarter-final first leg at Barcelona and with Der Klassiker against Bayern Munich up next in the Bundesliga this weekend. The injury was originally expected to keep him out until the end of the season, but it has now been confirmed that Schlotterbeck will be spending considerably longer on the sidelines.

"Nico's absence is a hammer blow," said BVB sporting director Sebastian Kehl. "He is a very important part of our team and has impressed with consistently good performances this season. We hope that he will be fit again quickly. [He] will receive maximum support from us on his road to recovery."

Kehl provided an update on Tuesday, saying: "It was truly a shock for us. The operation that was performed last night means he'll be out for several months, about half a year. That's the current prognosis. But one thing is clear: Nico will have our full support. He's a really important player for us.

"We'll miss him terribly in the coming weeks, but we'll still need him once he returns," Kehl continued. "Of course, this will have an impact on tomorrow's game [against Barcelona] and the coming weeks. Nico is equally sad, and so are we, his absence weighs heavily. But we'll do everything we can to give him a little joy in front of the TV tomorrow."

"Nico is crestfallen, but he knows that he has the full support of the club," said head coach Niko Kovač. "I've told him that he should take his time. Better one month more than one month too little. Then he'll come back even better."

Schlotterbeck has been an ever-present during Dortmund's Champions League run, whilst only missing a handful of league fixtures so far in 2024/25 through illness and suspension. The 25-year-old defender also featured in both legs of Germany's victorious UEFA Nations League quarter-final tie against Italy in March.

This means that Schlotterbeck will now also be ruled out of the Nations League Final Four tournament at the start of June, as well as Dortmund's FIFA Club World Cup 2025 campaign in the USA, which begins with a group-stage match against Brazil's Fluminense on 17 June.

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