Borussia Dortmund director Sebastian Kehl revealed that Giovanni Reyna is taking a bigger part in team training, while affirming that the club cannot wait to welcome the USMNT star back following injury.
Reyna has been unavailable since September, when he picked up a hamstring injury on international duty.
The teenager's absence has been felt keenly by BVB, who went out of the Champions League at the group stage and have fallen behind Bayern Munich in the race for the Bundesliga.
What was said?
“Gio had a good early phase this season, he played outstanding games in the diamond," Kehl explained in an interview published on Dortmund's official website.
"He moves cleverly between the lines, but also pulls from the outside in, radiates a goal danger and carries a shrewdness in himself. We want him back again.
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"It was a difficult phase for him, but he's stable again. He takes part in parts of the training, that will increase over the next few days.
"The boys need that, they want to play football and have fun."
The bigger picture
The son of former Premier League and USMNT star Claudio Reyna, Gio began his youth career in New York City FC's academy before moving to Dortmund in 2019.
He made his first-team debut the following year at the age of just 17 and has been an established part of the BVB set-up ever since, racking up 69 appearances and 10 goals in all competitions to date.
Reyna had begun the 2021-22season in fine form, netting twice in Dortmund's opening three Bundesliga games before injury left him on the sidelines.
The initial prognosis was positive, but in November Marco Rose admitted that the muscle problem was more complicated than first believed.
“It’s slowly getting better," the coach signalled.
“The injury turned out to be a bit more serious than we expected.
“It is not possible for me to predict when he will be back in team training. But we hope that he will be able to play again this year.”
Further reading
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