Dortmund's Karetsas Stretchered Off During Villarreal Win

Borussia Dortmund left Spain with a 3-2 UEFA Champions League win over Villarreal and a match-winning brace from Serhou Guirassy. They also left with a knot in the stomach.

Eighteen-year-old Konstantinos Karetsas, one of the brightest prospects in the squad, was taken off on a stretcher in the first half after a worrying collapse that briefly silenced the contest.

He had just released a pass when something clearly felt wrong. Karetsas immediately raised his hand towards the bench, then went to ground without any obvious contact. Medical staff rushed on and worked on him for several minutes, concentrating on his upper body as teammates and opponents watched on, uneasy.

The stretcher followed. So did a straight route down the tunnel to the locker room, no detour, no assessment on the sideline. Ethan Nwaneri came on in the 27th minute to replace him, but the real focus lingered on the teenager being taken away.

Dortmund later moved to calm the worst fears. The club announced that the substitution came “due to circulation problems” and confirmed Karetsas had been taken to hospital for further examinations. The update added that he “is doing as well as can be expected given the circumstances,” a line that offers some reassurance but also underlines the seriousness of the episode.

This was not an entirely routine build-up for the youngster. Karetsas had skipped full training with the main group the day before the match, instead working in the gym. Head coach Niko Kovač played that down in his pre-match press conference, describing it as a normal variation in workload, the kind that happens with one or two players in most sessions over a long season.

Karetsas only arrived at Dortmund this summer from Genk, part of a double swoop that also brought in compatriot Giannis Konstantelias. The Bundesliga club had high hopes for both. Fate has already intervened harshly in that plan: Konstantelias suffered an ACL tear in late August, a major setback that forced Dortmund back into the market.

Nwaneri’s loan from Arsenal came in response to that injury, a move designed to reinforce the creative options behind the forwards. On this night, the 17-year-old found himself involved far earlier than expected, thrown into a Champions League tie while the player he replaced was being monitored in hospital.

On the pitch, Dortmund eventually wrestled control. Guirassy’s second-half double proved decisive, his goals dragging the Bundesliga side past a stubborn Villarreal outfit in a match that swung sharply after the break. A 3-2 away win in Europe is never to be dismissed.

Yet even as the team celebrated, the story of the evening carried a different edge. Dortmund have already seen one promising newcomer sidelined for months. They can ill afford another long-term absence, especially one born of something as alarming as circulation issues mid-game.

The points are in the bank. The performance showed character. Now the question hangs over Dortmund’s early season: how quickly, and how fully, can Konstantinos Karetsas return?