Erling Haaland Set for Extended Spell on Sidelines With Persistent Knee Problem

Borussia Dortmund's exceedingly faint Bundesliga title hopes have sustained another potentially fatal blow, with the news that Erling Haaland could be out for an extended period of time with a knee injury.

The Norwegian striker suffered the injury in a collision with a referee during the club's 1-0 defeat to Bayern Munich, but while he was only thought to be sidelined temporarily, the issue has persisted.

As per BILD, he remains a serious doubt for Dortmund's upcoming clash with Hertha Berlin, and there are fears that his time in the treatment room could be extended further.

He was forced to hobble off in the loss to Die Roten, a defeat that all but ended the club's hopes of wrestling back German superiority off their relentlessly efficient rivals.

Lucien Favre's side have responded in style since - even without Haaland - putting six past Paderborn in a comprehensive victory, but the loss of their January signing for at least their fixture with Hertha will do little to lift the mood at the Westfalenstadion.

Haaland's setback follows the news that Mahmoud Dahoud will miss the remainder of the season, as well as defender Dan Axel Zagadou, who has suffered a similar fate. Marco Reus and Nico Schulz are unlikely to be fit for Saturday's clash as well, meanwhile Mats Hummels will miss out through suspension having picked up his fifth yellow card of the season.

But hey, at least Axel Witsel is almost fully recovered from his own injury!

It looks more like being a matter of pride for the rest of the Bundesliga season, as with just seven matches remaining as well as a seven-point gap to make up, Hans-Dieter Flick's Bayern machine look destined for an eighth successive top flight trophy.

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