United States international Giovanni Reyna is close to making his return for Borussia Dortmund after missing the last five months with a hamstring injury, according to BVB manager Marco Rose.
"I'm happy because Gio has had two good weeks of training. Seeing him again and having his qualities again is just great and important for us," said Rose, according to Dortmund's official website. "We need to see how long he can cope with after this long time out."
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It's possible Reyna could feature Sunday against Bayer Leverkusen, which would be his first appearance for the Black and Yellow since he started and scored in a 3-2 win against Hoffenheim on Aug. 27. Reyna injured his hamstring in the United States' initial World Cup qualifying match against El Salvador on Sept. 2 and has not played since.
Prior to the injury, Reyna had two goals in three Bundesliga appearances this season.
Something nice for our @USMNT fans 🤝🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/K2bULk1pb2
— Borussia Dortmund (@BlackYellow) January 28, 2022
U.S.manager Gregg Berhalter indicated Reyna was close to being brought into the U.S. camp when he discussed the roster for the recent qualifying window on Jan. 21.
"That was another one that was a difficult decision. In the end, together with Gio, we thought the best thing for him to do is to stay at Dortmund, train these weeks and try to get into their squad," Berhalter said. "That's vital for him because the big picture for Gio is him playing regularly for Dortmund and that's absolutely crucial for him.
"He's done a great job rehabbing. He's gained a ton of muscle and we think he's going to come out on the back end of this ahead of the game."
Reyna's availability would signify an important boost for the Americans, who will head into the final three games of World Cup qualifying next month in second place in the CONCACAF standings, but with work to do. In nine senior appearances for the U.S., including six friendlies, Reyna has four goals and three assists, playing predominantly on the right wing.