What Can Borussia Dortmund Fans Expect from Marco Reus Upon Return from Injury?

The last time Borussia Dortmund fans saw Marco Reus on the football pitch, the Black and Yellows fought for the DFB-Pokal in the final against Bayern Munich, losing only on penalties after a tight 120-minute battle.

Reus, one of the unluckiest footballers in recent memory, remained without a single major trophy in his career and, to make things worse, missed his second consecutive international tournament with Germany due to muscular issues.

Adding insult to injury, the Dortmund star learned of his omission from the squad on his 27th birthday on May 31, per ESPN FC's Stephan Uersfeld.

His club announced on the official website at the time that the attacker was set to return to training in mid-August, which would have meant the Ruhr side's No. 11 would likely have only missed a handful of games to start the 2016/17 campaign.

August came and went, however, as did September, without the Germany international returning to work with his team-mates. Per Goal.com's Stefan Coerts, Reus first took part in a full-team training session on October 11.

If nothing else, it seems the 27-year-old has made good strides since that point. Head coach Thomas Tuchel raved about his star man in his press conference ahead of the Bundesliga match against Hamburger SV at the weekend.

"It is a pleasure to watch him training right now," Dortmund's boss told the press: "Marco is in top condition, and at a noticeably high level with regard to his game. We are hoping that it will stay that way. I do not think it will be long before he can play for us again."

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It would be a welcome boost for a Dortmund side that has yet to find their feet on a consistent basis after a summer that brought wholesale changes to the squad.

Whereas the impact of the departures of team captain Mats Hummels and midfielders Ilkay Gundogan and Henrikh Mkhitaryan have been discussed at length, the fact that Dortmund have missed Reus has almost gone unnoticed to this point.

That can be considered a compliment to a player such as Christian Pulisic, who has done well on the attacking wings, especially given his lack of experience. It can also be down to the fact, though, that fans and onlookers have got used to Reus being unavailable.

In addition to the 2014 FIFA World Cup and Euro 2016 in the summer, he has missed close to 50 games in his four-plus years at the Westfalenstadion with various injuries, per Transfermarkt.com. Lengthy lay-offs are bad enough, but a near-constant stop-and-go with smaller, nagging problems has taken a considerable toll on his performances.

It is possible that Reus would not even still be at the club had he stayed healthy throughout his career.

Bleacher Report's Daniel Tiluk noted on the subject in 2015:

"

Alaskan king-crab fishermen are thought to have Earth's most dangerous job, but give them Dortmund's No. 11 shirt and statisticians might revise their thinking.

Unquestionably a talented footballer with high—if not unlimited—ceilings, Reus' body has transformed into the Bundesliga's best defender and his own worst enemy.

"

His lengthy injury history provides a blueprint for himself, Tuchel and his coaching staff and the club's millions of fans as they welcome Reus back into the fold.

Since the fateful injury in the final friendly match ahead of the World Cup in Brazil against Armenia, the attacker has usually struggled in the first few games after coming back.

In Tuchel's maiden campaign at the Westfalenstadion last year, Reus had three poor showings following a toe problem, which prompted his head coach to bench him for the biggest game of the campaign to that point—a meeting with Bayern Munich in October that would end up as a 5-1 thrashing of Dortmund.

In that sense, a comeback against the Bavarian giants after the November international break would only be fitting. However, fans ought to be cautious with their expectations of Reus immediately after his return to the field.

Martin Meissner/Associated Press

Chances are Tuchel will be conservative and bring his No. 11 along slowly but steadily, increasing his workload with a view on getting him to his best level for the start of the second half of the season in January.

Thanks to Pulisic's development and the presence of both Andre Schurrle and Ousmane Dembele, Dortmund can afford not to rush Reus back into action and thus lower the risk of a quick relapse. Of course, that will always remain a risk with the 27-year-old. Cynics would say the only thing fans should expect from Reus' return is the next injury.

For however long he will stay healthy this time around, however, he should be a big help to his team. Pulisic and Dembele are largely doing well, but their lack of experience shows up here and there. Both teenagers—naturally—have yet to find a consistency in their game.

For example, Schalke 04's Sead Kolasinac physically dominated 18-year-old Pulisic in a goalless Revierderby on Matchday 9, but the young American turned in arguably his two best performances at the senior level in the UEFA Champions League against Sporting CP and against Hamburg on the weekend immediately thereafter.

Now, Reus has also lacked consistency due to his injury woes, but there is no denying his quality. He is indubitably one of the most dangerous wide forwards in the game. Having scored 76 and assisted a further 53 goals in his Dortmund career, per Transfermarkt, he has been involved in a goal roughly every 99 minutes over the last four seasons.

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With Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang the team's only consistent scoring threat so far this season—the Gabon international has scored 14 goals across all competitions while no other player has more than three—Dortmund need Reus' knack for popping up in the right spot and his impeccable shooting technique.

With big games not only against Bayern but also upstarts Cologne, 1899 Hoffenheim and Eintracht Frankfurt in the Bundesliga, as well as a likely play-off for the Champions League group win against Real Madrid on the horizon after the international break, there will be plenty of games in which a player of Reus' quality and standing could make the difference.

The question is whether he and Tuchel can have enough trust in the Germany international's ability to hold up physically and get up to speed in a team that looks much different compared to the one he last played with in May.

Smiling from dozens of adverts and even the cover of EA Sports' FIFA 17 video game, Reus is the face of the club and one of only a handful of German players with a global appeal. He is a superstar.

Those expecting that to show on the field soon after his return from another months-long injury break, however, may well be in for a disappointment. Chances are he will need time and that fans will only see the true Reus in 2017.

Lars Pollmann also writes for The Yellow Wall. You can follow him on Twitter.