Dortmund waiting for Schmeltzer fitness
Borussia Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp is waiting on the fitness of Marcel Schmelzer ahead of Sunday's key Bundesliga clash against Bayer Leverkusen after the Germany left-back suffered a back injury.
The 25-year-old came off midway through the first-half after taking a knock to the back in the German champions' 1-0 defeat at second division Cologne on Monday night.
"I hope he comes back soon," said Klopp with Dortmund third in the Bundesliga and a point behind Leverkusen ahead of the BayArena clash.
Klopp used Monday's friendly to look at a few players and Turkey midfielder Nuri Sahin played his first 90 minutes since returning on loan from Real Madrid earlier this month, while 17-year-old defender Marian Sarr made his club debut.
"I wanted stability and it was not an unfamiliar game for us: the opponent stood back and we had to come up with something," explained Klopp with Dortmund facing Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League last 16 on February 13.
"It was important we could look at our Plan B options and get some match practice as we will be playing two matches a week soon."
