Haaland worry but Dortmund hope striker's Klassiker knee knock is short-term problem

Borussia Dortmund are hoping for positive news after Erling Haaland was forced off injured in the Klassiker defeat to Bayern Munich.

The prolific teenage striker has made a spectacular splash in the Bundesliga since joining Dortmund from Salzburg in January.

He could not force a breakthrough in the top-of-the-table clash with Bayern, however.

And compounding the misery of Dortmund's 1-0 home defeat, which looks to have realistically ended their title hopes, was a worry over Haaland's right knee.

He had to be substituted after 72 minutes, moving awkwardly after stretching to meet a cross from Jadon Sancho.

Head coach Lucien Favre told a post-match news conference: "I don't think he'll be out for long. He's got a knee injury. We don't know at the moment exactly what it is."

In eight starts and three substitute appearances, Haaland has scored 10 Bundesliga goals for Dortmund.

It was a frustrating evening all round for a Dortmund team who came into the match on a six-game winning run in the German top flight.

Another Klassiker W for Bayern pic.twitter.com/Yfmsfz0KKc

— Bundesliga English (@Bundesliga_EN) May 26, 2020

Had their passionate supporters been able to pack out Signal Iduna Park, it might have been a different story.

Favre admitted they were missed, with the coronavirus pandemic meaning all matches in Germany are being played behind closed doors.

"Of course everyone knows that we miss our fans at the games," said Favre.

"In the second half, for example, we would have played in front of the Yellow Wall. And of course we miss that."

He refused to blame his team's 1-0 loss on the absence of fans, however, stressing his team lacked their usual clinical edge.

"We missed the penultimate and the final pass and a little bit of precision," Favre said. "And a little more movement we would have needed. The right movements."