Dortmund's Goetze out for six weeks with ankle injury

BERLIN: Borussia Dortmund midfielder Mario Goetze has been ruled out for about six weeks after partially tearing ankle ligaments in Saturday's chaotic 4-4 home draw with Ruhr valley rivals Schalke 04, the Bundesliga club said on Monday.

The 25-year-old scored Dortmund's third goal as they opened up a 4-0 lead in the first half only to capitulate spectacularly and allow Schalke back into the game.

"Bad news everyone: Midfielder @MarioGoetze sustained partial ligament tears in his upper and lower ankle in the Bundesliga match... on Saturday," Dortmund said on Twitter.

Goetze will miss all of fifth-placed Dortmund's matches before the winter break begins on Dec. 20, including trips to Bayer Leverkusen in the league and Real Madrid in the Champions League, as well as a German Cup tie at Bayern Munich.

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