Reus Injury Puts Kagawa, Mkhitaryan in Dortmund Spotlight Ahead of Arsenal Clash

In the space of three minutes on August 29, Marco Reus underlined his importance to Borussia Dortmund—and added italics and put it in bold.

In one of the Bundesliga side's first passages of build-up play, the 25-year-old opened the scoring after latching onto a pass from Kevin Grosskreutz. Then just moments later, he turned provider when his corner was headed into the back of the Augsburg net by Sokratis Papastathopoulos.

Kerstin Joensson/Associated Press

As it turned out, Dortmund would need both goals in what became an unsettled, topsy-turvy encounter with the Fuggerstadter, who scored twice in the latter stages of the contest to close the gap on their guests.

They came up just short, however, as Dortmund had done enough to sneak a 3-2 win.

That is, Reus had done enough.

The performance was a reminder of just how vital the attacker is to manager Jurgen Klopp's side, which is why the German Super Cup winners will no doubt be in a precarious position over the next few weeks.

On Sunday, in a Euro 2016 qualifier against Scotland, Reus was hacked to ground by Charlie Mulgrew and withdrawn with an injury to the same ankle that kept him out of the 2014 World Cup. And while the early prognosis from Germany manager Joachim Low was that it was "not too bad," according to Goal, later scans revealed a strain to the joint that will keep him out of action for a month.

That's seven Dortmund matches he stands to miss—two of which are Champions League affairs, including next Tuesday's showdown with Arsenal.

That Dortmund are immediately weakened by Reus' absence is news to no one. He is, after all, one of the most consistently dangerous attackers in European football. But Klopp does have options, and between now and the second week of October, he'll be counting on squad depth to see his side through.

How important, in the context on Reus' injury, does Shinji Kagawa's return now seem?

Michael Regan/Getty Images

The Japan international played his best football for Dortmund between 2010 and 2012 before an ill-fated move to Manchester United temporarily derailed his career. His transfer back to the Westfalenstadion was always going to be crucial for personal reasons, but with Reus out of the picture, it's suddenly a welcome transpiration for the club as well.

Of course, more will be expected from the likes of Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang as well.

Mkhitaryan, for one, has enjoyed a terrific start to the season and has thrived in a new role at the extremity of the Dortmund attack. He may move back into a central position during Reus' recovery, although Kagawa could fill the hole as well, allowing the Armenia international to remain out wide.

Aubameyang, on the other hand, hasn't scored in either of Dortmund's two Bundesliga matches to date, and without the goal threat of Reus, he'll certainly be looked to for added production.

Then there is Adrian Ramos, who came off the bench to score what proved to be the winner against Augsburg. He'll be tasked with more responsibility as well.

Reus isn't the sort of player who can be replaced man-for-man. He's far too influential. But by drawing on his squad depth and getting offense by committee, Klopp should be able to stay the course until his talisman returns next month.