Giannis Konstantelias' Bundesliga Debut Ends in Injury

Borussia Dortmund’s new signing Giannis Konstantelias saw a dream Bundesliga debut turn sour, as the 23-year-old limped off with what the club fears could be a serious knee injury.

It happened just after the restart with Dortmund 2-0 up. Konstantelias twisted his knee in a challenge, immediately crumpled to the turf and stayed down, hands over his face. The reaction said plenty before the medical team even arrived.

Dortmund’s physios rushed on and performed the classic drawer test on the pitch, checking the stability of the joint. The verdict was swift: he could not go on. In the 54th minute, Konstantelias hobbled off to warm applause from the home crowd, replaced by Marcel Sabitzer.

TV replays did nothing to calm the mood. The slow-motion angle of the knee twist only deepened the concern that this was more than a knock.

On the touchline, coach Niko Kovac went straight to his new right winger, trying to lift his spirits with a few words and a brief embrace. It didn’t really work. The look on Konstantelias’ face, and on Kovac’s, told its own story.

After the match, sporting director Ole Book did not hide his worries when speaking to Sky.

“We should be careful about what we communicate today. But we are certainly concerned about a serious injury,” he said.

Pressed on whether that meant a possible cruciate ligament tear, Book admitted: “That concern is certainly there.” He confirmed that detailed examinations would follow.

Kovac sounded equally downbeat: “What the doctor told me definitely did not sound good.” He chose not to reveal more.

Up to that point, Konstantelias had been close to perfect in black and yellow. On his Bundesliga bow, he linked superbly with fellow Greek Konstantinos Karetsas and was involved in almost every dangerous Dortmund attack.

His performance was rewarded in first-half stoppage time. At 45+1, he darted in from the right to meet a clever ball from Maximilian Beier, who had drifted in from the left. Konstantelias cut inside, picked his spot and fired low. The shot went through the legs of HSV defender Sebastiaan Bornauw, who got a slight touch but only helped wrong-foot goalkeeper Daniel Heuer-Fernandes. The ball rolled in for 2-0, a debut goal that felt like the start of something.

Only days earlier, Dortmund had brought Konstantelias in from PAOK Saloniki for 26 million euros after a move for Said El Mala of 1. FC Cologne collapsed. He arrived with a clear brief: fill the void left by Karim Adeyemi’s transfer to Barca. His lively cameo in the Super Cup defeat to Bayern Munich had already hinted that he was ready for the stage.

Now Dortmund can only wait for the scan results and hope that a night which looked like the launch of a new era for their right flank does not instead mark a brutal early setback.