Karetsas Scare Shocks Dortmund: Teenager Collapses on Pitch

Signal Iduna Park fell silent after just 23 minutes. No tackle. No collision. No warning.

BVB winger Karetsas had been gliding down the flank moments earlier, dribbling as usual and slipping a routine pass inside. Then he suddenly stopped, sat down on the turf and raised his arm, urgently calling for help.

Medical staff sprinted onto the pitch. Paramedics followed. The 18-year-old, a new signing full of promise, was eventually carried off on a stretcher in tears, the crowd rising to applaud him as he disappeared into the tunnel.

From the stands and on the pitch, the fear was immediate.

"When the doctors didn’t look at his legs at all and were only focused on his upper body, it sent a shiver down my spine," said Dortmund legend Mats Hummels, working as a pundit for Prime Video. "We wouldn’t wish something like that on anyone. They were really horrible images that we had to see there."

BVB’s 3-2 win over Villarreal quickly felt secondary.

Shock and uncertainty at BVB

Sporting managing director Lars Ricken spoke of a club stunned by what it had just witnessed.

The Greek youngster was taken straight to hospital, where he will undergo detailed checks "to rule everything out in the end," Ricken explained. "We have to wait and see what the next few days bring."

Ricken admitted he had "of course been somewhat shocked. They were circulatory problems out of nowhere. There had been no indication of anything."

Sporting director Ole Book, who accompanied Karetsas off the field, echoed that concern.

"I went out with him, but at that moment he was not directly able to speak," Book said. "We obviously hope that it gets better very, very quickly and that it is nothing serious."

The incident came with no prior warning, Book stressed. "It came very suddenly. He sat down and was then taken to hospital for further examinations, where he still is now. That obviously dampens the mood considerably."

Inside the stadium, the tension eased only slightly when BVB issued an update at the start of the second half: the 18-year-old was "doing well under the circumstances".

Coach Niko Kovac made sure his players heard that message before they went back out.

"I told my players that everything is fine. They are worried as well," Kovac said.

Injury crisis deepens

Even before this latest scare, Dortmund’s luck with injuries had already taken a brutal turn.

A lengthy lay-off for Karetsas would be another major blow. Fellow new signing Giannis Konstantelias had already torn his cruciate ligament on his very first Bundesliga appearance against HSV on the opening matchday and faces a long spell out.

Dortmund reacted quickly before the transfer window closed, bringing in Ethan Nwaneri on loan from Arsenal as a replacement. On Tuesday night, it was Nwaneri who came on for Karetsas after the collapse.

At the back, the problems are mounting too. For the clash with Villarreal, Kovac had to do without Nico Schlotterbeck, Emre Can and Filippo Mane, all missing through injury.

Ramy Bensebaini is still dealing with a rib contusion and would not have been available anyway due to the second yellow-red card he picked up in the 1-4 defeat at Atalanta Bergamo in February.

A dramatic win, a shaken stadium, and an 18-year-old in hospital for tests: Dortmund have the points, but right now all eyes are on Karetsas and the next medical bulletin.