Gotze to miss out on Dortmund cup tie with thigh issue

Mario Gotze's return to Borussia Dortmund is kicking off in a manner eerily similar to his three-year spell with Bayern Munich, after the German World Cup-winner was ruled out of the club's first-round cup tie.

The club released a statement on its official website Sunday morning, detailing that Gotze suffered a thigh concern in training, and will not play in the domestic cup opener for precautionary reasons.

Dortmund travel to lower-league Eintracht Trier on Monday looking to progress to the DFB-Pokal Cup final for a fourth year on the bounce and fifth time in six attempts.

According to the statement, Gotze, alongside fellow summer signings Andre Schurrle, Raphael Guerreiro and Euro late-returnees Julian Weigl and Lukasz Piszczek, have expedited preseason training to return to fitness for Dortmund's Bundesliga opener. Gotze was injured during what the club are calling "an intensive week of training."

(Courtesy: @BVB)

Dortmund boss Thomas Tuchel spoke to reporters ahead of Monday's match, and revealed that Gotze sustained a minor knock that has resulted in muscle stiffness.

"The fact we are not taking him is a precautionary measure," Tuchel offered on the 56-time Die Mannschaft attacker.

An unfortunate case of deja vu for the 24-year-old attacker whose failure to secure consistent first-team appearances at Bayern was tethered to a string of injury concerns. During the 2015-16 campaign, Gotze suffered a fractured rib, hamstring strain, and calf muscle strain that saw him miss 22 matches for the Bavarian giant.

Tuchel also conceded that winger Marco Reus has yet to return to training despite hopes that he would do so this week. An abductor tear has hampered the pacey attacker since May, and like Reus' fellow German international Gotze, Tuchel would rather be play it safe in regards to his star player.

"If his mobility and resilience levels are not yet at 100 percent, it makes sense for him to sit this one out. His return to first-team training has therefore been postponed by a couple of days."