Football
Stephan Uersfeld, Germany correspondent 7y

Hamburg face goalkeeper crisis before Borussia Dortmund clash

Hamburg could be without all three of their first-team goalkeepers for their match against Borussia Dortmund on Saturday.

Hamburg are rock-bottom in the Bundesliga, having only managed to pick up two points and score two goals in their first nine matches.

They host Dortmund on Saturday and, while their only outfield absentee is the suspended Bobby Wood, all three of their keepers missed training on Thursday.

Former Germany shot-stopper Rene Adler has back and thigh problems, while second-choice Christian Mathenia was out with illness and third-choice Andreas Hirzel recently sustained a muscle tear.

New coach Markus Gisdol could be forced to play 27-year-old reserve-team keeper Tom Mickel, whose only first-team appearance came in the final match last season when Hamburg won 3-1 at Augsburg.

Despite the keeper crisis, Gisdol remains confident that Hamburg can beat Dortmund, telling reporters: "We can turn the impossible into the possible on Saturday."

Hamburg have not lost at home to BVB since January 2012 and Gisdol added: "In the past, HSV have always shown good performances against BVB at the Volksparkstadion."

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