Borussia Dortmund

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BVB without Bender in Stuttgart - Kuba also doubtful

[28.01.] Borussia Dortmund will be without Sven Bender for their Bundesliga away game at VfB Stuttgart on Sunday (KO 1530 CET). The 20-year-old, who has played 11 games for BVB this season and not lost any of them, has been suffering from an inflammation of the knee capsule for a number of weeks. "There is now also an inflammation at the base of the capsule, that´s why we decided to pull him out," said Jürgen Klopp on Thursday.

In the remaining three training sessions the coach wants to "test a few alternatives" before deciding how to fill the gap left by Bender.

Ruled out: Sven Bender

"There are several possibilities," said Klopp and revealed: "It depends whether we make many changes or just one."

The most likely alternative is that Mats Hummels moves up to midfield. The central defender has already played in this position against Schalke, Mainz and Bremen, and also - after Bender was substituted due to injury - in the 1-0 win over HSV. The return of Tamas Hajnal to the team to play alongside Nuri Sahin in a holding role would be another, more offensive-minded approach.

Bender has been in great form in the last couple of weeks and he will be hard to replace. Until Wednesday the 20-year-old had hoped to play in Stuttgart despite the pain. "But we have to be careful now," said Klopp, "you should avoid extreme strain with an inflammation." The coach hopes that Bender will be able to return to full training by the middle of next week.

In other team news, Kuba is also doubtful for the Stuttgart match. Klopp revealed that the Polish player, due to back problems, "wasn´t able to practice with the team all week." And Marc Hornschuh and Daniel Ginczek returned with some groin problems from a training course of Germany´s U19 side. "These two players also play a not so unimportant role in the squad," said Klopp.