Hummels and Piszczek confident of facing Hoffenheim

Borussia Dortmund duo Mats Hummels and Lukasz Piszczek are confident of facing Hoffenheim on Saturday despite their injury problems this week.

Captain Hummels was withdrawn at half-time of Thursday’s 1-0 Europa League last-32 second-leg win at Porto, which gave Dortmund a 3-0 aggregate triumph, due to hip and back complaints.

However, the Germany defender says he came off merely as a precaution.

“I’ve got a bit of a problem with my hip flexor and my back is a little tight,” he told Dortmund’s official website.

“If it had been the final, I would have played through it, but given the aggregate score-line at that point and the congested fixture list we have got coming up, I thought it best to err on the side of caution.”

Full-back Piszczek did not even make the squad due to a muscular problem, but the Poland international says he was also playing it safe.

“I am suffering from a slightly stiff muscle. As a precautionary measure I didn’t play,” he said.

“I hope everything will be okay for Sunday, but we certainly won’t be taking any risks.”