Karetsas still in hospital with an unknown condition

A grim evening at the Westfalenstadion. It was supposed to be a night of celebration for Borussia Dortmund’s 77,000 supporters, but instead, everyone in Dortmund is holding their breath and praying for the health of Konstantinos Karetsas. The young Greek, whom the Germans signed from Genk for exactly 30,000,000 euros just a month ago, was carried off the pitch on a stretcher and taken to a local hospital, where doctors are still trying to determine what caused him to end Borussia’s opening Champions League match against Villarreal (3:2) after just 27 minutes.

Dortmund c’est terriblement triste leur début de saison, tu avais le potentiel de créé un duo absolument iconique avec Konstantinos Karetsas et Giannis Konstantelias
Résultat, Konstantelias se fait les ligaments croisés au bout de 2 match
Et maintenant c’est au tour de Karetsas…
— JeanBonBeurre #KaneBallonDor (@JeanBonBeurreL) September 8, 2026

The outstanding attacking player, who had been dazzling in Belgium and made his Greece debut last year signaled that he was unable to continue. He turned towards the bench and reported that something was wrong. It was not the result of a challenge or contact with an opposing player, which left everyone in the stadium even more confused and made it clear that the situation was potentially serious. Karetsas sat down on the grass and waited for the medical team, who placed him on a stretcher, carried him off the pitch and then took him to hospital. While the match against the Spaniards was still going on, the first reports from the scene suggested that a circulation problem was suspected. Officially, the club is still keeping quiet about new information but both Bild and the Belgian press were keen to find more. He spent the night in the hospital for comprehensive examinations and BILD also learned that the initial results were unremarkable. Media outlets in Belgium, where the player’s parents live, are reporting dehydration. The club decided to do a complete medical check-up for Karetsas to avoid any further problems. It will be interesting to find out why the player had circulatory problems in 18C weather and light rain.

Borussia Dortmund have not only lost Karetsas. As a reminder, his compatriot Giannis Konstantelias was also struck by injury on the opening weekend of the Bundesliga. Another June signing, for whom Dortmund paid 26,000,000 euros to PAOK, tore his anterior cruciate ligament in the match against Hamburg. And he did so without even being involved in a challenge with another player — he simply landed awkwardly and injured his knee. He will now require surgery and is expected to be sidelined until the start of next season.

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

ROUND 1

Wednesday

19.45: (1.08) Barcelona (13.0) Feyenoord (20.0)

19.45: (1.23) Stuttgart (6.75) Viking (11.0)

22.00: (1.75) Liverpool (3.90) Atl.Madrid (4.50)

22.00: (4.90) Napoli (3.60) Arsenal (1.75)

22.00: (1.05) PSG (14.0) Slovan B. (35.0)

22.00: (1.90) Sporting (3.50) Galatasaray (4.10)

Thursday

19.45: (3.15) Fenerbahce (3.45) Roma (2.25)

19.45: (1.43) PSV (4.60) Shakhtar (7.25)