Lennard Maloney promoted to Borussia Dortmund first-team training
USMNT U20 international Lennard Maloney has been promoted to Borussia Dortmund's first-team squad ahead of Sunday's meeting with Arminia Bielefeld.
The 22-year-old made his Bundesliga debut in the reverse fixture in Bielefeld, replacing Mats Hummels for the final few minutes, but there is a chance he could he now replaced the Germany international from kick-off.
Hummels' name was added to an already long list of defensive absentees on Wednesday which has prompted head coach Marco Rose to summon Maloney to train with the first team.
Watch: Highlights of Dortmund's 3-1 win in the reverse fixture
The US defender, who was born in Berlin, has been a regular for Dortmund's second team, who play in Germany's third tier, this season. With Manuel Akanji unlikely to have made a full recovery from a calf injury and Thomas Meunier also ruled out with a thigh strain, Maloney is a serious option for a start.
Furthermore, Raphael Guerreiro is unavailable and Mateu Morey has a knee injury, meaning Rose will be forced to make changes across his defence on Sunday.
In addition to his brief appearance on Matchday 9, Maloney was also on the bench for the 2-0 win over Cologne on Matchday 10. He will now form part of the Dortmund squad to face Bielefeld rather than lead the defence of the second team at Würzburger Kickers.
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