Borussia Dortmund are flying. The club sits top of the Bundesliga with 12 points from four matches, two ahead of Bayern Munich, and have won their last five games across all competitions. That run includes a 3-2 Champions League victory over Villarreal and a 1-0 win away at Stuttgart, and it reflects a squad that is building genuine momentum under Niko Kovac.

Much of that confidence flows through midfield, where summer signing Joey Veerman has been outstanding. The Dutchman, who joined from PSV Eindhoven for 22 million euros, produced a dominant display for the Netherlands in their Nations League win over Serbia, recording 135 touches and completing 105 of 117 passes. Dutch legend Rafael van der Vaart called him the best passer in the squad by some distance, comparing his style to Toni Kroos and Andrea Pirlo.

Kovac himself has earned internal praise for a different reason. According to Bild, injuries at the club have fallen by around 60 percent since he took charge in February 2025, thanks to a detailed prevention programme built around blood tests, saliva tests and sleep monitoring. That context makes the latest setback more notable: Nico Schlotterbeck picked up an ankle ligament injury on international duty with Germany and is a doubt for the next Bundesliga fixture against Werder Bremen on 9 October at Signal Iduna Park. His return timeline remains unclear, though surgery has been ruled out.