
Nico Schlotterbeck steps up injury recovery
Borussia Dortmund's Nico Schlotterbeck was spotted running laps in training on Tuesday as he continues his rehabilitation after undergoing surgery for a long-term knee injury.
Back in early April, Schlotterbeck received the bad news that he had torn the meniscus in his left knee, which would leave him sidelined for the remainder of Dortmund's season, the latter stages of the UEFA Nations League with Germany, and the FIFA Club World Cup.
A vital component within Niko Kovač's squad, BVB sporting director Sebastian Kehl spoke at the time on the centre-back's injury, saying: "Nico's absence is a hammer blow," before providing an estimated timeframe for his return, adding: "he'll be out for several months, about half a year."
However, on 29 July, Schlotterbeck was seen being put through his paces at Dortmund's training centre whilst his teammates prepared for their pre-season friendly against SF Siegen on Wednesday.
Keep up to date with all the Bundesliga sides' pre-season schedules!
It was a positive sign for Dortmund fans, especially considering Schlotterbeck had largely withdrawn from social media since his injury.
The German international is wholly focused on his recovery. Nevertheless, although this is a positive sign, BVB official sources are yet to provide any update as to whether Schlotterbeck is ahead of his rehabilitation schedule.
As such, the No.4 remains expected back no earlier than October and is set to miss Dortmund's DFB Cup first-round encounter against Rot-Weiss Essen on 18 August as well as their Bundesliga opener on the road at St. Pauli the following Saturday.
Related news

BVB the hunters, Bayern the hunted
After a sixth consecutive league win, Dortmund are the form team as they try to chase down leaders Bayern...

Olise wins January's Player of the Month!
The Bayern winger fended off competition from the likes of Luka Vušković, Luis Díaz and Nico Schlotterbeck to take the first prize of 2026.

'Dortmund should voice title ambition'
Nico Schlotterbeck has said Dortmund must "have the ambition” to tell their passionate fans loud and clear they want to win the Bundesliga title this season.
