Nico Schlotterbeck's Delayed Return: Borussia Dortmund's Defensive Dilemma
Borussia Dortmund are still waiting on their defensive cornerstone. Nico Schlotterbeck has missed the whole of pre-season and the Franz Beckenbauer Supercup, and there is still no fixed date for his return. At least now, the 26-year-old has lifted the lid on what has become, in his own words, “a long, drawn‑out story.”
The centre-back has not played a competitive minute since 20 June. That was the night his World Cup ended, when he injured his ankle in Germany’s second group-stage match of the FIFA World Cup 2026 against Ivory Coast. One awkward moment, and both his tournament and Dortmund’s early-season plans were ripped up.
“At first, I thought it wasn’t that bad and kept playing,” he told Sky. It wasn’t. He did. And the damage lingered.
A delayed return for Dortmund’s defensive leader
While the rest of Edin Terzic’s squad pushed through their summer schedule, Schlotterbeck disappeared into the grind of rehab. When Dortmund reconvened in mid-July, there was still hope behind the scenes that he might be back around the first international break in September or October. The club knew he would miss the Supercup showdown with Bayern Munich, but there was a quiet belief the wait would not stretch much longer.
That optimism has stayed cautious. So has Schlotterbeck.
“We have to take it day by day,” he said. “We’re trying to let it heal properly and do good work with the physios and the rehab coaches. Then I believe it won’t take much longer.” No bold promises. Just the daily routine of treatment rooms, gym sessions and slow, careful steps back to full weight-bearing on that ankle.
Inside the club, his approach has not gone unnoticed. Sporting director Ole Book highlighted the defender’s attitude earlier in the summer, grouping him with captain Emre Can as standard-setters even while injured.
“I see both of them fully motivated every day,” Book said. “During their rehab, they both contribute enormously as leaders – to the team, to the togetherness, to the group. But how long it will take exactly, nobody can say – and certainly not me.”
For Dortmund, that uncertainty cuts both ways. They know exactly what they are missing: a left-sided defender with rare passing range, the man who starts attacks as confidently as he ends them. What they do not know is when that weapon will be back on the pitch rather than in the treatment room.
So the club waits. Schlotterbeck works. And somewhere between those two timelines lies a question that could shape Dortmund’s early season: how long can they hold the line without their rock at the back?
