The Bundesliga club have made a fine start to the season and could be boosted by the imminent return of the Spain international
Paco Alcacer could return for Borussia Dortmund’s DFB-Pokal clash with Union Berlin on Wednesday after missing the last two matches with a hamstring injury.
Alcacer has made a stunning start to life in the Bundesliga with seven goals in four outings, helping Dortmund move top of the table ahead of Bayern Munich, while he also netted three times on international duty with Spain this month.
The on-loan Barcelona forward has not featured since being withdrawn at half-time in Dortmund’s 4-0 win over Stuttgart on October 20, a game in which he extended his goal-scoring streak to six straight for club and country.
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However, coach Lucien Favre is hopeful he could return for the midweek cup encounter.
“He is in training,” said Favre. “We’ll see if it’s possible [for him to play] or not.”
Favre also confirmed Shinji Kagawa has fully recovered from an ankle injury, the Japan international having not lined up for Dortmund in over a month.
Kagawa could be one of several changes against second-tier side Union Berlin as Favre looks to keep his stars fresh in the midst of a busy stretch which will also see the club face Wolfsburg, Atletico Madrid and Bayern Munich over the next two weeks.
“There are likely to be a few changes, but that’s not certain yet,” he added.
“We know that a cup match is never easy, they will be very compact and well organised.
“We want to win. Our focus is only on this game, even though we know that we have a busy schedule.”