Shock at Signal Iduna Park: Karetsas Incident Overshadows BVB Victory
For a few chilling minutes in Dortmund, the 3-2 win over Villarreal stopped mattering.
After 23 minutes at Signal Iduna Park, BVB winger Karetsas suddenly sank to the turf. No tackle. No collision. Moments earlier he had been gliding forward with the ball, played a simple pass, then raised his arm and urgently signalled for help.
The stadium noise dropped in an instant.
Paramedics sprinted on. The 18-year-old summer signing was treated on the pitch, then carried off on a stretcher, in tears, to loud, anxious applause from the stands.
Mats Hummels, watching as a pundit on Prime Video, spoke of the horror of the scene. "When the doctors didn’t look at his legs at all and were only focused on his upper body, it sent a shiver down my spine. We wouldn’t wish something like that on anyone. They were really horrible images that we had to see there," the Dortmund icon said.
“Circulatory problems out of nowhere”
The club reacted quickly. Sporting managing director Lars Ricken confirmed after the match that Karetsas had been taken to hospital for extensive checks.
The priority now: clarity.
The Greek winger will be examined "to rule everything out in the end. We have to wait and see what the next few days bring," Ricken explained after the 3-2 victory over the Spaniards. He did not hide how deeply the incident had affected him.
He had been "of course somewhat shocked," Ricken admitted. "They were circulatory problems out of nowhere. There had been no indication of anything."
Dortmund sporting director Ole Book echoed that sense of alarm and helplessness.
"I went out with him, but at that moment he was not directly able to speak. We obviously hope that it gets better very, very quickly and that it is nothing serious," Book said.
The lack of warning signs disturbed everyone involved. "It came very suddenly. He sat down and was then taken to hospital for further examinations, where he still is now. That obviously dampens the mood considerably."
“Doing well under the circumstances”
The tension eased slightly after the break. At the start of the second half, BVB announced that the 18-year-old was "doing well under the circumstances". It was the first piece of positive news on a night that had briefly felt very dark.
Coach Niko Kovac carried that message straight into the dressing room at half-time.
"I told my players that everything is fine. They are worried as well," Kovac said. The relief was real, but so was the shock. You could see it in the faces on the Dortmund bench every time the incident was replayed on screens.
Injury crisis deepens
Even if the initial signs are cautiously positive, the fear of a longer absence for Karetsas hangs over the club. It would be a heavy blow for a squad already stretched.
Terrible luck has stalked Dortmund’s new arrivals. Giannis Konstantelias, another fresh signing, tore his cruciate ligament on his first Bundesliga appearance against HSV on the opening matchday and will be out for a long spell.
BVB had reacted before the transfer window closed, moving quickly to bring in Ethan Nwaneri on loan from Arsenal as a replacement. On Tuesday night, it was Nwaneri who came on for Karetsas after the collapse.
The problems don’t stop in attack. At the back, the list is growing. For the clash with Villarreal, Kovac had to do without Nico Schlotterbeck, Emre Can and Filippo Mane, all ruled out and forcing yet another reshuffle.
Ramy Bensebaini remains sidelined with a rib contusion and would not have been available anyway, still serving a suspension after his second yellow-red card in the 1-4 defeat at Atalanta Bergamo in February.
Dortmund left the pitch with a 3-2 win and some reassurance about Karetsas’ condition. But with injuries stacking up and new signings already dropping, how long can BVB keep absorbing these blows?
