Shinji Kagawa Injury: Updates on Borussia Dortmund Star's Groin and Return

Updates from Friday, Sept. 12

German paper Bild (translation from Goal.com) has an update on Kagawa's status for Saturday's match:

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However, Zorc said it was precautionary for the former Manchester United man to finish up early as coach Jurgen Klopp looks to deal with the absence of the injured Marco Reus.

"It was a precautionary measure. We assume that he can play Saturday," Zorc told Bild.

[...]

"We've just trained together for four or five days but we have to perform against Freiburg," the BVB coach said prior to Thursday's training. "I saw most of the things that were there when Kagawa left us, but not everything.

"But of course he's now two years older and more experienced. He speaks English now and still a bit German which will improve in the coming months.

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Original Text

After two rather inglorious years with Manchester United, Shinji Kagawa made his triumphant return to Borussia Dortmund this summer. However, his second-stint debut with the club may have to wait, as the midfielder has suffered what appears to be a groin injury.    

From Bundesliga.com:

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Shinji Kagawa's participation in this week's clash with SC Freiburg could be in doubt after the 25-year-old was withdrawn from training early on Thursday.

The man who re-joined Borussia this summer having left the club for Manchester United FC two years ago, pulled up suddenly and appeared to hold his groin after taking a shot. After a brief word with Jurgen Klopp, he then retired to the dressing room, after which the coach then brought the training session to an end. 

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To say Borussia Dortmund have been hit with the injury bug would be a gross understatement. Alongside Kagawa, the team's official site also lists Ji Dong-Won, Marco Reus, Nuri Sahin and Oliver Kirch as injury casualties.

Meanwhile, Ciro Immobile, Mats Hummels and Marcel Schmelzer are recovering from knocks or attempting to return to fitness, while Jakub Blaszczykowski is also out of action. And then there is Ilkay Gundogan, looking to come back from the back injuries that cost him most of last season. 

Suffice to say, the very last thing Dortmund needed was an injury to Kagawa. He was expected to make an immediate impact, per Stephan Uersfeld of ESPN FC:

One of Europe's best teams is currently being held together by backups and duct tape. That's hardly a good sign for a team looking to take a bite out of Bayern Munich's dominance domestically while also advancing through the Champions League. 

A fit Kagawa will certainly help in that pursuit. While he was devalued at Manchester United, he was a crucial contributor for Dortmund during his time there. In 38 Premier League appearances over two seasons, he scored six goals and added six assists. Compare that to his last season with Dortmund in 2011-12, when in 31 appearances he notched 13 goals and eight assists.

That's the player and production Dortmund hope they've gotten back, and so it was hardly shocking that Klopp was so happy to have him back. The two exchanged a nice moment upon his return, per Bleacher Report U.K.:

Dortmund absolutely need Kagawa out on the pitch. Without him, they are in serious trouble with many of their top attackers and midfielders nursing wounds.

The faster Kagawa can return to fitness, the better off Borussia Dortmund will be.