When will Gio Reyna be back? Breaking down Borussia Dortmund & USMNT star’s injury absence

19-year-old Gio Reyna has been out of action for several months, missing some vital matches for both club and country.

The U.S. men’s national team and Borussia Dortmund winger hasn’t featured since September as he’s battled a right hamstring injury.

It’s likely he will continue to miss time as he completes his recovery and returns to full match fitness. The question now is when Reyna will be available for both the U.S. and Dortmund.

Why is Reyna not playing for Borussia Dortmund?

Reyna has been out of action since September 2, when he suffered a hamstring injury during the USMNT’s World Cup qualifier against El Salvador. He played the full 90 minutes of the match, but was ruled out of the subsequent USMNT matches in that international window just days later.

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He hasn’t featured for either Dortmund or the U.S. since, having missed seven World Cup qualifiers for the latter. In addition, he’s missed a vast majority of Dortmund’s season, having featured in just three of the club’s first 18 Bundesliga matches.

The injury has been frustrating for the young winger, as it was not originally expected to keep him out this long. Indeed, reports in late October indicated he was already expected to have returned by then, but that setbacks had scrapped that initial timeline. At that point, his club publicly expressed a hope for his return before the new year, but that didn’t materialize either.

When will Reyna be back for Borussia Dortmund?

It has not been confirmed how soon Reyna could be back for Dortmund, but it’s possible that he will make a return after February 2, when the USMNT play Honduras.

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Dortmund play Bayer Leverkusen on February 6, and then Union Berlin on February 13, so Reyna could potentially make an appearance at either one of these games. Even should he return to training at that time, a ramp-up to match fitness could extend his time off.

Reyna has had several false starts since suffering the injury, which turned out to be worse than originally feared. The American dressed for Dortmund’s match against Eintracht Frankfurt on January 8 but did not get into the match.

Then, in the lead-up to Dortmund’s ensuing match against Freiburg six days later, coach Marco Rose said that, while Reyna is “on the right track”, he still isn’t quite ready to make his return to the lineup just yet.

Which games could Reyna miss?

Following the Friday clash with Freiburg, Dortmund has two more fixtures before the international break – a DFB-Pokal match against second-tier side St. Pauli on January 18, plus a Bundesliga match against Hoffenheim on January 22.

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It is expected that Reyna will not be among the squad that USMNT boss Gregg Berhalter will name for the three upcoming World Cup qualifiers, which take place on January 27, 30, and February 2 against El Salvador, Canada, and Honduras respectively.

Once the players return to Germany for the resumption of the club season, the aforementioned games against Bayer Leverkusen and Union Berlin through the start of February are the next fixtures. There is a big Europa League knockout stage match against Rangers on February 17 before a critical Bundesliga match against struggling Gladbach on February 20. If his injury keeps him out any longer than that, the season becomes well and truly lost for Reyna.