BUNDESLIGA
Hummels eyes swift return and looks set to avoid Haaland fate
Mats Hummels went for hospital checks after suffering an ankle injury against Lazio, but the indications are that he avoided serious damage.
Mats Hummels is optimistic his ankle blow will not mean a lengthy injury lay-off as Borussia Dortmund reel from losing his team-mate Erling Haaland until the new year.
Star defender Hummels appears to have avoided what could have been serious damage during Wednesday's Champions League draw with Lazio.
While striker Haaland has been ruled out of action until January with a torn hamstring, Hummels hopes to be playing again for Lucien Favre's team within days.
Hummels took a heavy knock to his left ankle late in the game, needing attention at the side of the pitch, and he was checked out at hospital after the game amid concerns.
Fresh checks were planned for Thursday, but Hummels left hospital in a positive mood.
In a video posted to Instagram, he said: "Of course everybody want to know how I feel, so a little update.
"I just came out of the hospital and it looks like it's not too bad. It looks like it could be fine in a couple of days. But of course we will take another look at it [on Thursday] and then we will see. It looks like I'm going to be back on the pitch very, very soon."
Dortmund sit four points behind Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich and face Eintracht Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Werder Bremen and Union Berlin before the end of the year.
The draw with Lazio made certain of Dortmund's place in the Champions League knock-out stage ahead of their final group match next Tuesday against Zenit.
Losing striker Haaland appears set to dent their hopes of closing the gap to Bayern before Germany's short mid-season break.
The Norwegian has featured 14 times for Dortmund in all competitions this term, starting 13 of those games and scoring 17 goals.
Hummels, meanwhile, has started more Bundesliga games for Dortmund in 2020 than any other player, with 25 appearances from the first whistle, and his 46 tackles is a team-high.
He also leads Dortmund in blocks (17), interceptions (52) and headed clearances (41) in the calendar year. With blocks and headed clearances, Hummels has tallied more than twice the number of any team-mate.