Marc Bartra is set to miss Borussia Dortmund's Bundesliga match at Bayer Leverkusen after tearing a muscle in an attempt to reach match fitness in time for the Champions League clash with Real Madrid earlier this week, kicker reports.
Bartra, 25, picked up a groin injury early on in Dortmund's 5-1 win at Wolfsburg last week, but the club hoped for him to come back against Real on Tuesday.
However, the former Barcelona defender did not feature in the 2-2 draw with the European champions, and coach Thomas Tuchel confirmed in a prematch interview on Sky that Bartra suffered an injury setback in the final training session before the match.
On Thursday, kicker reported that another examination has shown a torn muscle in the groin region, which will make it impossible for Bartra to take part in the away match at Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday.
Dortmund are already without Sven Bender, who returned from the 2016 Olympic Games with an injury which has sidelined him since, while Neven Subotic is still working towards his comeback following surgery in August.
With Bartra, Bender and Subotic out of action, Thomas Tuchel will need to bank on Sokratis and Matthias Ginter in central defence on Saturday.
Five matches into the 2016-17 campaign, BVB have won 12 points, five more than Saturday's opponents Leverkusen,who prior to the season vowed to try to overtake Dortmund as Bayern Munich's primary challengers.