Dortmund Await Updates on Karetsas After Collapse
Borussia Dortmund are holding their breath over Kostas Karetsas after the teenager’s alarming collapse in the Champions League opener left a cloud over an otherwise stirring 3-2 win.
According to Belgian newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws, initial suspicion among doctors is that the Greek attacker may have gone down due to dehydration, having not taken on enough water immediately before kick-off. Medical staff at the hospital first pointed to dehydration during examinations on Tuesday night.
By Wednesday lunchtime, Dortmund were still unable – or unwilling – to offer certainty. The club had not released any statement on completed diagnostics, leaving only cautious updates.
Asked by SID, a club spokesman limited himself to a brief status report: Karetsas was “doing well under the circumstances”. Earlier, sporting managing director Lars Ricken had spoken of sudden “circulatory problems” suffered by the 18-year-old.
A shocking moment at Signal Iduna Park
The incident stunned Signal Iduna Park. After 23 minutes of Dortmund’s group-stage opener against the LaLiga side, Karetsas suddenly went down without any contact. Just seconds earlier, he had glided past his man on a routine dribble and slipped a pass inside. Nothing in that action hinted at trouble.
Then he raised his arm, clearly calling for help.
Paramedics reacted instantly, sprinting onto the pitch as teammates and opponents waved frantically. Karetsas was carried off to applause from the stands, visibly in tears as he left the field. The noise of the stadium dropped to a murmur.
“I went out with him, but at that moment he was not directly able to speak. We naturally hope that things get better very, very quickly and that it is nothing serious,” Dortmund sporting director Ole Book said immediately after the final whistle. “It came very suddenly. Of course, that really puts a significant damper on the mood.”
The win stayed on the scoreboard. The image of the teenager leaving the pitch stayed in the mind.
Another blow to a stretched squad
The timing could hardly be worse for BVB. Losing Karetsas for any length of time would be a heavy setback for a squad already patched together in key areas.
New arrival Giannis Konstantelias had barely unpacked before disaster struck: a torn cruciate ligament on his first Bundesliga appearance against Hamburger SV on the opening matchday. He will be missing for months, leaving a planned creative option out of the equation almost before his Dortmund career began.
Dortmund reacted late in the transfer window, moving quickly to bring in Ethan Nwaneri from Arsenal on loan as cover. On Tuesday night, the 17-year-old was thrown straight into the pressure, coming on as Karetsas’ replacement.
The problems do not stop in attack. Defensive worries are piling up as well. During the clash with Villarreal, coach Niko Kovac was forced to substitute Nico Schlotterbeck, Emre Can and Filippo Mane, adding fresh concerns to an already delicate situation at the back.
Ramy Bensebaini is still dealing with a bruised ribcage, and even if he had been fully fit, he would have been unavailable after his second yellow-red card in the defeat at Atalanta Bergamo (1-4) back in February.
Dortmund emerged from their European opener with three points and a roar from the Yellow Wall. What they need now, more than another late winner, is a clean bill of health for a teenager who has already given them a scare far bigger than any Champions League opponent.
