Dortmund Teenager Karetsas Back In Training After Health Scare

Back on the Training Pitch

Borussia Dortmund's young midfielder Konstantinos Karetsas is back in training. The 18 year old returned to joint sessions with his teammates on Wednesday, following some individual work earlier in the week.

This is a major relief for the club after an alarming medical incident on his Champions League debut just over a week ago. On Sept. 8, during Dortmund's 3-2 victory over Villarreal, Karetsas slumped to the ground. After passing the ball to a teammate, he signaled his distress to the referee and sat on the grass. He was in tears as he was stretchered off the field with suspected circulatory problems.

Recovery and Diagnostics

Following the incident, Karetsas was taken to a hospital, where he remained for much of last week. Dortmund has not specified any official diagnosis for the midfielder. However, local media in Belgium, where Karetsas was born, reported that dehydration was suspected to be a key factor.

The player himself shared a positive update on Monday. In a video recorded during a visit to his former club, Genk, Karetsas said that everything is fine. He explained that they tested everything and he just needs some time to adjust to the intensity of the game.

Dortmund signed Karetsas from Genk last month for a reported transfer fee of $34.6 million. Managing director Lars Ricken noted there were no warning signs of any circulatory issues before the game. While Karetsas could not play in Saturday's 3-0 win against Paderborn, he was able to support his teammates from the stands. Dortmund has not yet said if he will be ready to play this coming Saturday.

What it means for the next game

VfB Stuttgart vs Borussia Dortmund (Bundesliga, Sat, 19 Sep): VfB Stuttgart win 37%, draw 26%, Borussia Dortmund win 36%; expected goals 1.43 to 1.41. Our safest pick: Over 1.5 goals.