Borussia Dortmund’s Filippo Mane out of action until after the winter break | OneFootball

Ahead of their game against Bayern Munich this coming weekend, Borussia Dortmund seem to have weathered the bulk of their injury crisis with many players set to return to action before the game takes place. Kjell Wätjen and Niklas Süle both seemingly returned to training this week, whilst Julian Duranville and Karim Adeyemi have slowly been coming back up to speed as well.

Unfortunately for Dortmund, there has been one more twist in the tail with academy prospect Filippo Mane sustaining a calf injury that will keep him sidelined until the winter break. Mane, considered a top defensive talent, has had a history of injuries throughout his career, and this setback will once again be a possible blow to his development. The club has not provided an exact timeline for his return in the second half of the season.

Prior to the injury, Mane had yet to make a competitive appearance for the first team, which has recently been noted as head coach Nuri Şahin looking to protect the player from senior football. Ahead of the season however, Mane was planned to be Dortmund’s fourth choice center back, but even when the injury crisis hit he received no minutes and Şahin instead played other senior players out of position to cover for both Süle and Waldemar Anton.

This delay, per an earlier report from Bild, comes down to the club’s alleged thought process that he is not ready for Bundesliga football. It vents the question as to why he was touted to feature behind Dortmund’s current crop of defenders, even if it were to be as fourth choice. It also puts into question why Dortmund didn’t look to add depth in the position this summer.

Now that the injury burdens are starting to lessen, Şahin won’t really have to worry about depth defensively for the time being, giving Mane the time he needs to recover. The injury is disappointing from a development standpoint as it would have still been prudent for the club to give the player his senior debut in the not-so-distant future, especially if they really want to consider integrating him into the first team over the long run.