USMNT star Gio Reyna told he remains ‘important player’ for Borussia Dortmund following latest enforced absence

• Midfielder lacking starts in 2022-23
• Feeling under the weather at present
• Remains part of long-term thinking

WHAT HAPPENED? The United States international has sat out far more games than he would have liked at club level since making a senior breakthrough, with injuries proving difficult to shake at times. He was unavailable again for a 2-1 victory over Union Berlin on Saturday, with the 20-year-old playmaker feeling a little under the weather. Reyna has started just one game since the World Cup break, but he remains an integral part of long-term plans at Signal Iduna Park.

WHAT THEY SAID: Dortmund’s sporting director, Sebastian Kehl, has stated as much, telling reporters on why Reyna missed out against Union: “Gio was coming out of a prolonged spell of illness. He was back in the squad on Wednesday. The coach had to make a decision on Friday based on who was fresh and who could help him in what position. Therefore he made this decision. But Gio is an important player and so hopefully he will be back next week.”

THE BIGGER PICTURE: Reyna has been struggling with illness since returning from international duty with the USMNT at the end of March. He sat out a Klassiker clash with Bayern Munich as a result, and was left out of the matchday squad again versus Union after being an unused substitute in a 2-0 DFB-Pokal quarter-final defeat to RB Leipzig.

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IN TWO PHOTOS:

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WHAT NEXT? Reyna has taken in 24 appearances for Dortmund this season, but only four of those have been Bundesliga starts and he has made as many headlines off the field as he has on it since taking in a frustrating trip to the World Cup finals with his country.