Niko Kovac has revealed Serhou Guirassy's substitution against Real Betis was to avoid risks after the Borussia Dortmund striker felt discomfort in his thigh.
Kovac did not want to take 'risk' with Guirassy injury
Serhou Guirassy was forced off in the first half against Real Betis, but Niko Kovac hopes the injury will not prove to be serious.
Dortmund made it back-to-back wins in the Champions League with Wednesday's 2-1 victory over Betis, with Fabio Silva and Konstantinos Karetsas netting either side of Aitor Ruibal’s equaliser.
But Dortmund were dealt a blow just 34 minutes in when Guirassy had to go off the field, though it was match-winner Karetsas who came on in his place.
Before the match against Betis, Guirassy had been Dortmund’s only goalscorer in the Champions League (four goals), while his eight goals in all competitions this term are a team-high.
"He says he feels his thigh," Kovac told DAZN when asked about Guirassy's injury.
"Now we have to see if it's more than a strain, which I don't think it is. But still, it didn't go any further, and we didn't want to take risks.
"If he's not available against Elversberg, we hope he'll be back after the break."
Guirassy’s absence could now open the door for 18-year-old Karetsas to start in the Bundesliga this weekend, after he made Champions League history for the club.
He is the youngest Dortmund player to score a winning goal in the Champions League (18 years 350 days), beating Jude Bellingham’s record from October 2022 against Sevilla (19y 98d).
Kovac was particularly impressed, even after he had to search for Karetsas before bringing him on, due to the substitute making a trip to the toilet.
"You could see that Kostas is a really good footballer," Kovac added. "It's difficult to defend [against] him; he has a lot of good step-overs. He brought a lot of momentum, and I thought he and Fabio harmonised very well. I liked that.
"He will probably play from the start in the next few games as long as Serhou is not there. I'm glad, after a difficult time for him, that he gained such a good foothold in the game.
"I'm sure there's still room for improvement, but at 18 he's okay – if he performs like that up front, then I can turn a blind eye at the back.
"I was looking for him! I thought about going in – suddenly he wasn't there. Then I called Carney [Chukwuemeka] and 'poof', he came around the corner. So, he would still have been sitting on the toilet if he hadn't come in!"
Dortmund have now won each of their last five games against Spanish sides in the Champions League (all since April 2025), which is as many wins as they managed in their previous 21 games against LaLiga opposition in the competition (five).
They have also only lost two of their last 25 home outings in the competition (W16 D7), while averaging over two goals per match in this run (2.16 – 54 in 25 games).
