Dortmund Concerned for Karetsas After Alarming Collapse
Borussia Dortmund are holding their breath over the health of young attacker Karetsas after his alarming collapse in the Champions League opener at Signal Iduna Park.
The 18-year-old went down without any contact in the 23rd minute of the 3-2 win over the LaLiga side, turning a raucous European night into a scene of shock and concern.
According to Belgian newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws, doctors suspect the Greek forward may have collapsed because he had not taken on enough water immediately before kick-off. Initial examinations at the hospital reportedly pointed towards dehydration.
By Wednesday lunchtime, Dortmund had still not released any details of a completed diagnosis. Asked by SID, a club spokesman limited himself to a brief update: Karetsas was “doing well under the circumstances”.
Sporting managing director Lars Ricken had earlier spoken of sudden “circulatory problems” suffered by the new signing.
A normal dribble, then a sudden collapse
Nothing about the situation seemed dangerous at first. Karetsas had just carried the ball forward on a routine dribble and laid off a simple pass. Then he raised his arm, clearly signalling that something was wrong, and called for help.
Seconds later he went down. Medical staff sprinted onto the pitch. The stadium fell quiet.
Paramedics eventually carried the teenager off on a stretcher to warm applause, the player visibly in tears as he left the field.
“I went out with him, but at that moment he was not directly able to speak,” sporting director Ole Book said straight after the final whistle. “We naturally hope that things get better very, very quickly and that it is nothing serious. It came very suddenly. Of course, that really puts a significant damper on the mood.”
The win stayed on the scoreboard. The images of Karetsas leaving the pitch stayed in everyone’s mind.
Injury crisis deepens at BVB
From a sporting perspective, another absence in attack would hit Dortmund hard.
New arrival Giannis Konstantelias had already torn his cruciate ligament on his Bundesliga debut against Hamburger SV on the opening weekend and faces a lengthy spell on the sidelines. The club reacted late in the transfer window, bringing in Ethan Nwaneri on loan from Arsenal as cover.
On Tuesday night, it was Nwaneri who came on to replace Karetsas after the collapse.
The problems do not stop in the final third. In defence, coach Niko Kovac is also running out of options. Nico Schlotterbeck, Emre Can and Filippo Mane all had to be substituted during the clash with Villarreal, adding fresh concerns to an already stretched squad.
Ramy Bensebaini remains unavailable as well. The defender is still dealing with a bruised ribcage and would not have been allowed to play in any case because of the second yellow-red card he picked up in the 1-4 defeat at Atalanta Bergamo in February.
Dortmund emerged from their Champions League opener with three points, but also with a growing list of injuries and one overriding question: how long will they have to do without another of their key attacking hopes?
