Borussia Dortmund defender Niklas Sule has been ruled out for two months because of a calf injury.
Sule went down off the ball during Dortmund’s 2-1 friendly defeat to Juventus on Wednesday.
Dortmund confirmed the nature of his injury on Monday, announcing a lay-off that, in addition to sidelining him for the start of the new Bundesliga season, will also see him miss the first two matchdays of the Champions League.
Matchday one of the league phase takes on place on September 16-18, with matchday two taking place on September 30-October 1.
Dortmund visit defending Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich in Der Klassiker on October 18.
Sule will hope to be fit to feature in that derby, though the timescale leaves him facing a race against time to be ready to take on Dortmund’s arch rivals.
His absence puts Dortmund in a difficult position at the back, given Nico Schlotterbeck is already out until October with a torn meniscus.
Dortmund face Rot-Weiss Essen in the first round of the DFB-Pokal next Monday. They then begin their Bundesliga campaign at St. Pauli five days later.
The coming season will be the first full campaign in charge of Dortmund for Niko Kovac, who took over in January, leading them to the quarter-finals of the Champions League, a run that ended with defeat to Barcelona, and a fourth-placed finish in the Bundesliga.
