Borussia Dortmund boss blames Erik ten Hag for Jadon Sancho injury after Man Utd loan exit

Borussia Dortmund manager Edin Terzic believes Jadon Sancho's lengthy absence from first-team football has made him more vulnerable to injury.

Sancho is a doubt for Dortmund's Bundesliga game against Heidenheim on Friday evening after picking up a muscle injury during the week. The 23-year-old has played in all three games since making the move back to Germany on loan from Manchester United earlier this month.

Prior to that run, Sancho had not kicked a ball in anger for almost five months, following his exile by manager Erik ten Hag in September. The winger was not even allowed to train with the first-team and Terzic believes that lack of intense football has been a factor behind this recent injury. 

“Jadon currently has muscular problems in the adductor area, which is not surprising after a long break," Terzic said. "We will wait and see how things develop over the next two days and decide at short notice whether he will travel with us to Heidenheim.”

Sancho was taken out of the first-team picture after failing to apologise for a social media post in which he essentially accused Ten Hag of lying about his poor performances in training. The former England international had been left out of the matchday squad to face Arsenal due to that reason.

He refused to apologise for the statement and kept the post pinned to the top of his profile for several days, causing a rift with the manager and a move away long looked on the cards. He returned to Dortmund, the place where his form convinced United to spend £73million on him in 2021.

Sancho's move to Dortmund is a straight loan with no option or obligation to buy, but it is unlikely he will return to the first-team picture at United, particularly if Ten Hag remains in charge beyond this summer. The club will hope to recoup a large portion of that £73m fee and Sancho's improving form back in Germany would help that cause.