Borussia Dortmund will likely be without the injured Pascal Gross and Maximilian Beier when they travel to Hoffenheim in the Bundesliga on Saturday, coach Niko Kovac said on Thursday.
Dortmund, in seventh place with four games left to play, are desperate for a top-four finish to secure a Champions League spot for next season.
They have won three of their last four league matches and drew against Bayern Munich, as they battle to make up for lost ground earlier in the season.
“Gross has knee ligament problems,” Kovac told a press conference in Dortmund. “I still have some hope but honestly I don’t think he will make it.
“Maxi is a similar case. He did not train. He can walk but running is painful but I also have not yet given up. But obviously we will not take any risks.”
Both players were injured in last week’s 3-2 win over Borussia Moenchengladbach but are not expected to be out too long.
Dortmund are on 45 points in seventh place. Eintracht Frankfurt, third with 52, host fourth-placed RB Leipzig (49) on Saturday. Freiburg (48) are fifth and visit Wolfsburg, while Mainz 05, who travel to Bayern Munich, are sixth with 47.
“The finish is approaching. The feeling I get is during this crunch time everyone player wants to be there, to go beyond any pain,” Kovac said.
“I am happy that the lads recognise the situation. Everyone can read the standings. Everyone knows what is at stake and everyone has to increase their focus,” he added.
“It does not matter thinking what can happen on May 17 (season finale). We have to keep doing our homework and focus only on the next game. We cannot look at the teams in front of us. We just have to keep winning to put pressure on them.”
