Dortmund still waiting for captain Marco Reus’ comeback

DORTMUND, Germany (AP) — Borussia Dortmund captain Marco Reus remains unavailable after failing to recover from a thigh injury.

Dortmund coach Lucien Favre says Reus, the team’s best player in the opening half of the season, will not play in Sunday’s Bundesliga game against visiting Bayer Leverkusen. Defender Lukasz Piszczek is also out with a heel injury.

Reus hasn’t played since getting injured in Dortmund’s German Cup loss to Werder Bremen on Feb. 5. His club has failed to win since and is now five games without a victory across all competitions.

Dortmund’s Bundesliga lead over Bayern Munich has shrunk from nine points to three ahead of the weekend’s games. Bayern hosts Hertha Berlin on Saturday.

Sporting director Michael Zorc says “we’re still first in the league and have only lost one game. There are enough reasons to go into the game with Leverkusen with confidence.”