The past few days have been dramatic for teams in the Bundesliga ahead of the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League. Just as Bayern Munich confirmed the serious injury of Jamal Musiala on Saturday, now it is Borussia Dortmund who has issued a statement informing that Nico Schlotterbeck, their best defender this season, has torn the meniscus in his knee and will not play again this season. Undoubtedly, a huge piece of good news for Barcelona.

Schlotterbeck gets seriously injured before the Barcelona vs Borussia Dortmund

Nico Schlotterbeck was unable to play in Borussia Dortmund's last match against Freiburg because he was suspended due to accumulating yellow cards. Therefore, although the club hasn't specified it, it can be inferred that the German defender might have suffered this serious injury during one of the training sessions prior to traveling to Barcelona for the first-leg match of the quarterfinals of the Champions League.

This is the brief statement issued by Borussia Dortmund regarding Nico Schlotterbeck's injury: "The central defender of Borussia Dortmund, Nico Schlotterbeck, suffered a torn meniscus in his left knee and will no longer be available for Borussia Dortmund in any competition this season."

Borussia Dortmund left without center-backs

For his part, Sebastian Kehl, former player of Borussia Dortmund and current sporting director, assessed Schlotterbeck's injury as follows: “Nico's absence deeply affects us. He is a key piece of our team and has impressed with his great performances this season. We hope he recovers quickly and receives our full support on his return.”

With Schlotterbeck's injury, combined with the absence of Süle, Niko Kovac is forced to rebuild a defense where he barely has Waldemar Anton and Emre Can, who usually plays in midfield, as available center-backs to form his usual three-center-back line. Excellent news for a team like Barcelona, with the ability to score goals so easily.