Borussia Dortmund news and rumours: Swift comeback? Borussia Dortmund may be able to count on Giannis Konstantelias again sooner than expected

Could Giannis Konstantelias return for Borussia Dortmund much sooner than expected? The club are also reportedly considering legal action, if necessary, over Felix Nmecha and "Ballers in God".

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About two months after tearing a cruciate ligament, Borussia Dortmund's new signing Giannis Konstantelias is reportedly well ahead of schedule in his recovery. The attacking player is training hard at least five days a week to regain fitness, and the work appears to be paying off.

Reports from Greece suggest his rehabilitation is going so well that a comeback between February and March 2027 is realistic. Bild also reports, citing sources at Borussia Dortmund, that Konstantelias is ahead of schedule. The 23-year-old has no fixed return date, though, and the club do not want to rush him given his injury history.

Konstantelias joined from PAOK Thessaloniki and scored to make it 2-0 against HSV on matchday one, when he also played well. He suffered the serious injury in the second half without any contact from an opponent and has been out ever since. Previously, the expectation was that he would not be available again until April at the earliest.

Following Felix Nmecha's controversial goal celebration for the faith community "Ballers in God", the DFB have followed through on the consequences they announced. National-team coach Jürgen Klopp and sporting director Rudi Völler summoned the 26-year-old for talks on Monday, immediately after he arrived at the team's base in Herzogenaurach.

The sporting leadership told Nmecha the association would publicly back him only if he made it unequivocally clear that he did not hold any questionable or discriminatory views. Only after those internal talks did the midfielder publish his personal statement late on Monday evening.

At a meeting of Borussia Dortmund's fan and support department, club president Hans-Joachim Watzke allegedly made it clear that the club were unequivocally asking Nmecha to stop making the gesture altogether in future.

According to Bild, the club firmly expect the Germany international to relent and refrain from the celebration in future after several confidential conversations between Watzke and Nmecha. Borussia Dortmund also want to avoid any further links with the group. The tabloid reports that the Bundesliga club reserve the right to take legal action if the Christian network continues to use images of Nmecha in a Dortmund shirt for PR purposes.