Klopp hints at Reus, Bender returns

Jurgen Klopp has intimated that both Marco Reus and Sven Bender could be fit for Borussia Dortmund’s clash with Eintracht Frankfurt.

Both players missed Tuesday’s 1-0 DFB-Pokal win over Frankfurt, attacking midfielder Reus absent because of a torn muscle in his right thigh sustained in the 5-1 victory at Werder Bremen last weekend.

Midfielder Bender was unavailable due to a thigh strain, but Klopp hinted that the pair may well feature at Signal Iduna Park on Saturday as Dortmund look to gain ground on second-placed Bayer Leverkusen.

“We will not take any risks,” Klopp said. “But we do not want to stop anyone who feels fit.”

Addressing the recovery of Reus, Klopp joked: “Who knows, maybe it’s a good time for torn muscle fibres. They heal more quickly in this weather.”

However, while Reus and Bender appear set to make speedy recoveries, Ilkay Gundogan remains out of action because of a back injury.

Gundogan has not featured for Dortmund since August, and Klopp admitted that the 23-year-old still “needs time” to return to full fitness.

Dortmund head into Saturday’s game looking to end a run of four league outings at home without a win.

But after narrowly overcoming Frankfurt in the last eight of the DFB-Pokal, Klopp is anticipating another difficult game.

“It was a tight game (on Tuesday),” he explained. “If we want to win on Saturday, we need to be really good.”