Edin Terzic is hopeful Erling Haaland will not take long to recover from a thigh injury that forced him to miss Borussia Dortmund's emphatic DFB-Pokal win over Holstein Kiel.
Striker Haaland watched on from the stands as Dortmund clinched a place in the final, triumphing 5-0 against second-tier opponents as all their goals arrived in the first half of the contest.
Giovanni Reyna was on target twice while Marco Reus, Thorgan Hazard and Jude Bellingham also scored for BVB, who will now face RB Leipzig in Berlin on May 13.
However, before having the chance to secure silverware, the focus reverts to securing a top-four finish in the Bundesliga - and Terzic is confident leading scorer Haaland will be involved in the run-in.
Dortmund have a final rehearsal against Leipzig to come next, the first of three crucial league games as they aim to qualify for next season's Champions League.
"Erling being out had its origins in Wolfsburg last weekend, where he had a great performance," Terzic told the media.
"Two or three minutes before the end he conceded a hit on his thigh. He stayed in pain. In the first few days, he tried to return to training but had some little problems.
"Yesterday, he told us that he couldn't play, that it would be too painful, so we decided to take him out for today's game. But we are confident that it won't take long to recover.
"Maybe he can join the team's training midweek and fully recover for the next Bundesliga tasks and the cup final."
While Haaland could be back soon, team-mate Mateu Morey seems set for an extended spell on the sidelines after suffering what looked to be a serious leg injury late in proceedings.
Morey had only come on as a substitute just after the hour mark, yet had to be carried off on a stretcher in the 74th minute.
Terzic admitted the full-back's situation had tarnished the result, particularly as Dortmund were coasting towards the final whistle at the time it happened.
"We totally wanted to go to the cup final and up until the 75th minute, it seemed like a perfect night for us," he said.
"But the injury to Mateu tarnished everything for us. Especially when you know what a good boy he is.
"When he lies on the floor in pain, it is hard to think about the win or the game."
Rice to miss Inter trip as Arsenal welcome back Odegaard
Declan Rice will miss Arsenal's Champions League match at Inter through injury but Mikel Arteta is hopeful of having Martin Odegaard available after two months on the sidelines.
Rice has not travelled to Milan after picking up an injury during Arsenal's 1-0 defeat to Newcastle United in the Premier League on Saturday.
The England international will now undergo further tests to determine his availability for Sunday's London derby at Chelsea.
"Declan unfortunately picked up an injury against Newcastle. He was able to finish and he wasn't feeling good the last few days," Arteta told a press conference.
"We'll have to assess him on Thursday and see if he's ready for Chelsea."
Meanwhile, Arteta will wait to see if Odegaard can feature at San Siro after recovering from an ankle injury he suffered while on international duty with Norway in September.
"The positive news, Martin, it's great to have him back," the Spaniard said.
"He trained with us first time today. He's a bit earlier than expected. But it's great to have him here and we will decide if we use him tomorrow."
Both Arsenal and Inter have seven points apiece after three Champions League games.
Arteta's side will look to restore morale after a three-game winless streak in the Premier League, in what will be the team's first game after sporting director Edu surprisingly announced his departure.
"Everything happened very quickly. I loved working with him, I really enjoyed being alongside him in this incredible journey. I'm very grateful for everything he's done for me and the club," Arteta said about the Brazilian.
"He's had an amazing opportunity now to do something else in a different role. He feels that's best for him. We have to respect that. From the bottom of my heart I wish the best for him.
"We have a very strong leadership team and we're not going to stop right now. The passion to fulfil this journey is not going to stop. That means opportunities for someone else. We say thank you and we have to move on."
Martinez red 'decisive' in PSV defeat, say Girona's Michel and Blind
Michel and Daley Blind were in agreement that Arnau Martinez's sending off was pivotal in Girona's 4-0 defeat to PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League on Tuesday.
Girona found themselves two goals down at the break thanks to strikes from Ryan Flamingo and Malik Tillman, though the LaLiga side were still in the contest.
Michel's team managed seven shots in the first 45 minutes compared to their opponents' 13, but boasted an expected goals (xG) tally of 0.76 to PSV's 0.61.
However, hopes of a comeback were dashed 10 minutes after the break when Martinez was shown a second yellow card before one-way traffic ensued.
Johan Bakayoko notched PSV's third seven minutes from time before Ladislav Krejci's own-goal confirmed a disappointing result for the LaLiga outfit.
"The first half of both teams was very good in terms of the pace of play, looking for the opponent's goal," Michel told reporters.
"The expulsion was decisive. From there, PSV had chances and deserved to win. In this competition, the small details make a difference."
At the age of 21 years and 194 days, Martinez became the fifth-youngest Spaniard to be sent off in a Champions League match and the youngest since Gavi for Barcelona against Porto in October 2023, aged 19.
Girona have also now conceded four own goals in four games in the Champions League this season, already the most by a team in a single campaign.
They sit 26th in the Champions League table after just one win from their four games in the competition, with Sturm Graz up next for Michel's men.
Blind echoed the thoughts of his manager at full-time, insisting his side had played well up until Martinez's dismissal.
"The first chance was for us, but we conceded a goal from a throw-in, which cannot happen," Blind said.
"After that, we tried to play. It was an open game. We had a lot of movement when we had possession, but overall, PSV had the upper hand.
"We missed a few players through injury. It's a difficult situation. But I don't want to give that as an excuse. We need to do it with the players we have.
"We fought hard. We came out of the dressing room with good spirit. But after the red card, the game was over."
Martinez back in Argentina squad for World Cup qualifiers
Emiliano Martinez has been recalled by Argentina for this month's World Cup qualifiers versus Paraguay and Peru after serving a two-match suspension.
The Aston Villa goalkeeper sat out a 1-1 draw with Venezuela and a 6-0 rout of Bolivia in October after being banned for "offensive behaviour and violation of the principles of fair play" by CONMEBOL.
Martinez had made a lewd gesture with the Copa America trophy ahead of a match against Chile in September, then hit a local television camera after a loss to Colombia.
Valencia midfielder Enzo Barrenechea has been handed his maiden call-up by Lionel Scaloni, while Manchester United's Alejandro Garnacho and Leicester City's Facundo Buonanotte have also been recalled.
Inter Miami's Lionel Messi will lead the world champions – who are top of the CONMEBOL qualification group with 22 points – in Paraguay on November 14, before they host Peru five days later.
Argentina squad: Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa), Walter Benitez (PSV), Geronimo Rulli (Marseille), Nahuel Molina (Atletico Madrid), Gonzalo Montiel (Sevilla), Cristian Romero (Tottenham), German Pezzella (River Plate), Leonardo Balerdi (Marseille), Nicolas Otamendi (Benfica), Nehuen Perez (Porto), Lisandro Martinez (Manchester United), Nicolas Tagliafico (Lyon), Enzo Fernandez (Chelsea), Leandro Paredes (Roma), Exequiel Palacios (Bayer Leverkusen), Rodrigo De Paul (Atletico Madrid), Alexis Mac Allister (Liverpool), Giovani Lo Celso (Real Betis), Enzo Barrenechea (Valencia), Thiago Almada (Botafogo), Facundo Buonanotte (Leicester City), Nicolas Paz (Como), Lionel Messi (Inter Miami), Alejandro Garnacho (Manchester United), Nicolas Gonzalez (Juventus), Julian Alvarez (Atletico Madrid), Lautaro Martinez (Inter), Valentin Castellanos (Lazio).
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