Giannis Konstantelias injury halts Dortmund breakthrough

Giannis Konstantelias scored for Borussia Dortmund in their 2-0 win over Hamburger SV, then left the Borussia Dortmund vs Hamburger SV match with an ACL injury that is set to sideline him for several months. The 54-minute outing ended after he twisted his left leg awkwardly in the turf, cutting short a debut that had already looked promising.

Dortmund lose a new attacker immediately

The goal came in first-half stoppage time and gave Dortmund their second of the night. It was Konstantelias' first goal for the club and it arrived in a game where he still managed a 6.91 rating and 2 shots on target before he was taken off early in the second half.

Lars Ricken, Dortmund's managing director for sport, said the injury had hit the club hard. Speaking to bundesliga.com, he said: "The news hits us hard because Giannis had shown in a very short time why we regard him as a great player here at Dortmund".

Recovery now comes first

Ricken added: "For now, though, all parties are focused on his recovery." That is the only immediate certainty after an encouraging start turned into a long lay-off.

Konstantelias joined Dortmund from PAOK earlier this month and had already impressed as a half-time substitute against Bayern Munich in the Franz Beckenbauer Supercup before his full debut. Dortmund travel to HEBC in the DFB Pokal on Tuesday, and Niko Kovač now has to plan without one of his freshest attacking options.