Borussia Dortmund are struggling with injuries ahead of their Bundesliga match against Bayern Munich on Saturday with right-back Oliver Kirch and midfielder Nuri Sahin both ruled out of the Westfalenstadion clash.
Kirch, 32, sustained a pulled tendon in training and is set for a two- to three-week spell on the sidelines, BVB announced on Tuesday.
The versatile player had been used as a back-up for the injured Lukasz Piszczek at right-back in recent weeks, with Kevin Grosskreutz also out injured.
Gute Besserung, Oliver Kirch! #bvb #lasttweet
- Borussia Dortmund (@BVB) March 31, 2015
While Dortmund-born Erik Durm has returned to team training, left-back Marcel Schmelzer is facing an uphill task to return to the squad following a muscle tear in mid-March.
Jurgen Klopp will also be without holding midfielder Sahin, who has yet to return from an abductor injury suffered in late February.
However, BVB sporting director Michael Zorc has told kicker that reports suggesting the 26-year-old Turkey international will not return this season are "pure speculation."
Despite their injury woes, Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke believes his team can beat Bayern and says "everything's still possible" for BVB this year.
Following a "horrifying" first half of the season with the club picking up just 15 points from 17 games, Dortmund have escaped the relegation zone after collecting 18 points in nine games.
They have closed the gap to the Europa League qualification positions to five points, and are only four points off seventh place.
That could be enough if one of Bayer Leverkusen, Bayern, Wolfsburg, Hoffenheim or Borussia Monchengladbach win the DFB-Pokal and qualify for Europe via the Bundesliga.
"We still look at the teams below us in the standings," Watzke told Sky. "But everything's still possible this season, including in the cup [where BVB host Hoffenheim in the quarterfinal next week]."
Despite falling off the pace in the Bundesliga and thus ending the recent title rivalry between Dortmund and Bayern, Watzke believes the meeting still "electrifies" the nation.
"It's still something special for German football fans," Watzke added. "With all due humbleness looking at our 10th place, I think BVB versus Bayern is more interesting for the German fans than a meeting between Wolfsburg and Bayern.
"Bayern are the measure of all things, but that's nothing new, and we are the outsiders. We are not without a chance."