Unlucky! Dortmund’s Greek Duo Both Injured as €56 Million Summer Investment Faces Setback

This summer, Borussia Dortmund spent €56 million in the transfer market to sign the Greek duo. The 23-year-old Konstantelias cost €26 million and was nicknamed “Big K” by fans, while his 18-year-old compatriot Karetsas cost €30 million and was known as “Little K” among supporters. Now, Big K suffered a serious ACL injury in his left knee after playing only two matches and will be sidelined for several months. Little K, meanwhile, collapsed without contact during the Champions League match in the early hours of today and experienced a rare circulation issue.

Borussia Dortmund’s Champions League clash with Villarreal was overshadowed by a worrying incident: Dortmund youngster Karetsas went down during his Champions League debut against Villarreal and was immediately taken to hospital. The 18-year-old midfielder had only completed a routine pass to a teammate before clearly feeling unwell, signaling to the referee that something was wrong before sitting down on the pitch. The situation quickly became tense, with players and fans immediately expressing concern.

Shortly after the incident, the Bundesliga club released an official statement about the player’s condition, confirming that the issue involved the circulatory system. “Konstantinos Karetsas was forced to leave the pitch due to a circulatory system problem,” Dortmund wrote in the statement. “Costa is currently in a stable condition and has been taken to hospital for further examinations.” After the final whistle, Dortmund goalkeeper Kobel spoke to the media, revealing the dressing room’s concern while expressing hope for his teammate’s recovery. “I hope and believe everything is fine, and I look forward to seeing him recover and return to the team soon,” Kobel said.

Karetsas had only just joined the Westfalenstadion this summer and arrived together with Greek international Giannis Konstantelias (Big K), representing a major move by the club to bring in young talents. Dortmund spent as much as €30 million to sign the 18-year-old Greek prospect from Genk, while Konstantelias joined from PAOK for €26 million. Both players were originally expected to take on important roles in European competitions this season.

However, Dortmund’s expensive new signings have suffered successive setbacks. Before Karetsas’ alarming incident, Konstantelias had already received bad news: he suffered a serious anterior cruciate ligament injury during his Bundesliga debut last month, effectively ruling him out for most of the season. With the two major summer arrivals both affected by injuries and domestic league and European schedules becoming increasingly crowded, head coach Kovac faces major challenges in team selection. Before the transfer window closed, Dortmund fortunately secured a loan move for 19-year-old Nwaneri from Arsenal. With Big K and Little K both struggling with injuries, the Gunners talent could receive increased opportunities under Kovac.

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