Dortmund loses to Constantine for months

German club Borussia Dortmund will be without their new signing, Greek international Yannis Konstantelias, for several months after he suffered a serious knee injury in their 2-0 Bundesliga victory over Hamburg, the club announced.

The 23-year-old Greek international made a striking impression in his first Bundesliga start, scoring Dortmund’s second goal, before leaving the pitch with the aid of the medical staff at the start of the second half. Dortmund’s Croatian coach, Niko Kovač, said after the match that the club “feared the worst,” a concern later confirmed by detailed medical examinations.

The club stated on its social media platforms that “Yannis Konstantelias suffered a tear in the anterior cruciate ligament of his left knee and will be sidelined for several months.”

Konstantelias joined Dortmund this month from PAOK Thessaloniki for a fee of approximately 30 million euros ($36 million).

The midfielder’s transfer to the German club proceeded despite protests from hardline PAOK fans who attempted to block the deal by occupying parts of the stadium, after they successfully disrupted a similar move to German club Stuttgart a year earlier.