Jadon Sancho struck again to help Borussia Dortmund reach the Champions League quarter-finals but they are also sweating on his fitness ahead of crucial upcoming weeks.
Dortmund will find out their opponent in the last eight of the elite event on Friday and the games are set for April 9/10 and 16/17.
At the same time Dortmund in fourth face all other teams in the Bundesliga top six over the next weeks, starting with a Sunday date against number six Eintracht Frankfurt, and they can't afford any slip-ups in their bid to return to the Champions League next term.
Dortmund were on Thursday yet to give an injury update on the England winger Sancho who limped off in the 75th minute of their 2-0 victory against PSV Eindhoven that saw them into the last eight.
"He felt something on the back of his thigh. Let's see how it develops. We hope that he is healthy and remains on track," coach Edin Terzic said post-match.
Sancho scored the important early opening goal against PSV, after netting for the first time since his January return to Dortmund on loan from Manchester United last weekend in a 2-1 victory at Werder Bremen.
"Jadon showed his best performance since he came here," Terzic said. Sporting director Sebastian Kehl added: "He has now awarded himself with two goals. The more he plays, the better. He enriches our game."
Terzic said the team played "the best first 30 minutes of the season" which has been inconsistent on the domestic front.
Sancho could help Dortmund secure a top four finish, with RB Leipzig threatening just one point back, in their difficult schedule with matches against runaway leaders Bayer Leverkusen, champions Bayern Munich, third-placed VfB Stuttgart and Leipzig.
He can also help them in Europe where the Spanish trio of Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid and Barcelona, title holders Manchester City and Arsenal from England, Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern are also through.
"When you look at which clubs are in the quarter-finals it is great to be among them," Dortmund striker Niclas Füllkrug said.
The 1997 winners are in the quarters for the first time since 2021, and Kehl said "it shows that this club is still alive and present in Europe."
