Borussia Dortmund Sporting Director: “The physical problem is still there, Reinier is not ready to play”

Borussia Dortmund have played a total of 12 matches across all competitions this season. If a player were to play and complete every single one of those matches, they would have already amassed 1,080 minutes. Real Madrid’s young Brazilian loanee, Reinier Jesus, has played in 7 of those 12 matches. Most notably, he was left out of the squad all together for the match vs Bayern Munich played this weekend. In fact, the 18-year-old has played a mere 105 minutes out of the total 1,080 available to him. With the Champions League, Bundesliga, and DFB-Pokal all being played, thus meaning games are coming thick and fast, Reinier still has not found himself a part of the rotation despite theoretically being able to fill in at four spots for Dortmund.

Michael Zorc, the Borussia Dortmund sporting director, spoke with German outlet, Ruhr Nachrichten, and was asked about the Brazilian’s lack of minutes. “For months he could hardly train, and he could not play in Spain [due to the lockdown],” Zorc noted. “The physical problem is still there, so it makes sense for him to take advantage of these games (with the call up to the Brazil Under-23 Olympic team this month).”

The lockdown and the injury Reinier sustained post-lockdown have not helped the yougnster’s adjustment to his new club. That being said, the best way to get a player physically fit, especially at the highest level, is to play him. The Brazilian will need match rhythm and will need more than 8 minutes per match to adjust to the European game. Zorc’s comments seem to indicate that Reinier may start to be more involved in the rotation if he is able to get some match fitness under his belt with the Brazilian Olympic team over the new few weeks. Real Madrid will be keeping a close eye on his development and will be hopeful that the situation changes for the better in the coming months.