Dortmund suffer double injury blow as season start looms

BERLIN (Reuters) - Borussia Dortmund suffered a double injury blow days before the start of the Bundesliga with midfielder Oliver Kirch ruled out for two months and Ji Dong-won set to miss at least four weeks, the club said on Wednesday.

Last season's Bundesliga runners-up, who open their campaign against Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday, will be without Kirch for at least eight weeks with a thigh muscle injury, it said in a statement.

His South Korean team mate, who joined from Augsburg this season, will be out for an estimated four weeks with a thigh muscle tear.

Both players were injured in training on Tuesday afternoon and underwent checks in a Dortmund hospital on Wednesday that confirmed their injuries.

Dortmund are also competing in the group stage of the Champions League, starting in September.

(Reporting by Karolos Grohmann; editing by Josh Reich)