Report: Marco Reus to Delay Return Until March

SportBild is reporting that Marco Reus will delay his return to the squad until March of 2018. He was originally scheduled to return around January, but he’d like the extra time so that he can become fully healthy and galvanize himself for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

Reus has been injured since May, when he suffered a partial cruciate ligament tear in during the DFB-Final. Muscle-fibre tears are devastating injuries (especially in the knee) and can take months to recover. Oftentimes they are prone to re-injury. Marco is right to take his time in the recovery process. If he were to return too early and re-open the tear, it could end his career.

As for his World Cup expectations , Marco should really take his recovery one step at a time. He’s one of the most injury-prone players in the world. Even if he waits until March, who knows if he will be able to last the rest of the year without hurting himself?

The repercussions of this news for Dortmund are serious. When Reus is healthy, he’s world class. His presence on the pitch will be dearly missed. On the other hand, his absence makes the additions of Maximillian Philipp and Andriy Yarmolenko that much more important. It also means that Christian Pulisic’s roll at the club will continue to grow. Dortmund have learned to manage without Reus for several years now. That will have to continue a little longer.