Gundogan to miss Dortmund´s trip to Leverkusen

Thomas Tuchel has confirmed illness will keep Ilkay Gundogan out of Borussia Dortmund’s trip to Bayer Leverkusen.

The midfielder was linked with a move to Manchester City this week – reports Dortmund dismissed – and played the full 90 minutes of last weekend’s 1-0 win against Hannover.

However, he missed Thursday’s Europa League meeting with Porto due to flu and Tuchel revealed on Saturday that Gundogan had failed to sufficiently recover in time for the trip to the BayArena.

“Roman Weidenfeller and Ilkay Gundogan are still out with the flu, it looks like we have make do without them,” he said.

There was better news on Sven Bender, however, who last featured for the club in mid-December.

“Sven Bender is available for tomorrow, which is a great joy for me and a great joy for the team,” Tuchel said.

“Bender could have played against Porto, but we decided to be careful with his rehab.”

Tuchel also urged caution on Nuri Sahin, who made his return against Porto after almost a year out with a knee injury.

“Of course Nuri is available for Sunday, but it’s important to manage his time on the pitch,” he added.

“We have to think whether it makes sense for Nuri to play twice in a week and versus a physical demanding side like Leverkusen.

“Leverkusen are always able to start a winning streak They currently play with a lot of confidence.”