Image Credits: Imago Images
After nearly six months on the sidelines with a devastating adductor injury, former Liverpool man and Borussia Dortmund captain Emre Can has finally returned to action.
The nightmare began in April 2025, during Borussia Dortmund’s humiliating 4-0 Champions League quarter-final defeat to Barcelona at Camp Nou.
The official diagnosis was an adductor injury – damage to the muscles that run along the inner thigh and are responsible for bringing the legs together and stabilizing the pelvis during movement.
His last competitive appearance before the injury came in April 2025 against Hoffenheim. He wouldn’t feature again until late October—first as a substitute in a 4-1 Champions League defeat to Manchester City on November 5, then as a starter in a 1-1 Bundesliga draw with Hamburg on November 8.
Now speaking after making a return to football, the ex-Liverpool midfielder revealed that he had several setbacks in his journey:
“I had several setbacks in my rehab: I was very far along and then I felt it again and had to start from scratch. And then I was back to where I was and felt it again,” he explained to Borussia Dortmund’s media team.
“Playing football again after such a long time, isn’t easy. I could feel that after the game. But things are better at the moment and I was just happy to be back on the pitch again.”
“The break came just at the right moment, because, to be honest, I am not quite ready yet to play every three days. I need to get back into that rhythm again and I must also regain confidence in my body.”
“It was perhaps the most difficult phase of my career. It wasn’t a pleasant time, that’s all I can say about it.”
“You have to stay incredibly strong, especially mentally. I had a few setbacks during my rehab, so that’s why it wasn’t easy.”
“Nevertheless, I always stayed positive. Our physio Peter Kuhnt, rehab coach Dennis Morschel and the lads have supported me a lot. I completed parts of my rehab with Schlotti and Juju. They were also important for me.”
Can was out for approximately 180 days absent from football, nearly half a calendar year watching from the sidelines while his teammates fought without him.
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