Erling Haaland not yet fully fit but will play against Stuttgart: Dortmund coach

Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Haaland's ankle injury has yet to heal fully but he is expected to feature in Friday's Bundesliga game at VfB Stuttgart, with his club desperate to bounce back from last week's heavy defeat to RB Leipzig. The 21-year-old Norway forward, a major transfer target, was injured while on international duty just over a week ago. But he played in their 4-1 defeat by visitors Leipzig last week without having any major impact on the game.

"Erling Haaland's ankle is not perfect but okay," Dortmund coach Marco Rose told a virtual news conference on Thursday. Haaland, who came back recently from a month-long injury, has not scored in the Bundesliga since Jan 22. Midfielder Jude Bellingham, who is nursing a knock on the leg, will also be expected to play despite having missed training this week.

"Jude could hardly train this week but he is expected in the final training today," Rose said. "He has signalled that it is looking good." Dortmund's chances of winning the Bundesliga title a decade after their last success are all but gone after last week's loss, with Bayern Munich nine points clear at the top with six games remaining. But the Bavarians' 4-1 victory over Freiburg last week now hangs in the balance following an appeal over a substitution mix-up.

Should the German FA sports court award the game to Freiburg, as the rules stipulate, then Bayern's lead would shrink to six points with a clash against Dortmund to come later this month. "Too often things have happened in football," Rose said when asked to speculate about the title or Dortmund's almost certain top four finish and a spot in next season's Champions League. "Independent of last week's game we have decided to finish the season with maximum