Haaland still out of action as pressure mounts on Dortmund

AFP - Under pressure Borussia Dortmund coach Marco Rose said Saturday that injured star striker Erling Haaland will remain sidelined for Sunday's game against Borussia Moenchengladbach.

Dortmund are hoping to bounce back from a humiliating 4-2 Europa League defeat to Rangers in midweek, but will have to do without Haaland, who has been out since January 22 with a muscle injury.

"Erling is not an option for the game. He completed some parts of training, but he is not yet fully fit," Rose told reporters at the pre-match press conference.

The Dortmund coach added that defender Manuel Akanji would be out got up to three weeks with a calf injury he picked up against Rangers.

Pressure is mounting on Rose following Thursday's shock home defeat, which left Dortmund on the brink of a premature exit in the Europa League.

Already out of the cup and six points behind leaders Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga, the Europa League had been considered the club's only chance for silverware this season.

Sporting director Michael Zorc called his side's performance against Rangers "embarrassing", prompting speculation over Rose's future.

But Zorc said last Sunday that there was "no discussion about the coach", and Bild newspaper reported Saturday that Rose's job was safe as long as he delivered a top-four finish in the league.

The Dortmund coach demanded a response from his side against former club Gladbach on Sunday.

"We have an important game on Sunday and we need to go about it differently to the way we did against Rangers," he warned.