Reyna: "Reus an important player for us" - "Excited" to be back with the USMNT

It was a bittersweet afternoon for Giovanni Reyna at SIGNAL IDUNA Park. On the one hand, he got to play an important role in Borussia Dortmund’s 1-0 victory over rivals Schalke; on the other hand; he came on to replace injured captain Marco Reus. 

“There isn’t anything positive to take away,” Reyna said when asked about Reus’ injury. “He is obviously a very important player for us. I don’t know about the severity, but he will be out for a little bit. But we have a lot of attacking players that can hopefully fill the void.” 

Reus rolled his ankle in the 28^th minute and, after four minutes of treatment, had to be carried off the field with Reyna being the substitute. “We have the quality to fill in for him,” Reyna said. “There is lots of young energy in this team.”

Reyna: "I felt good" against Schalke - USMNT minutes to be managed? 

As for his own performance, Reyna admitted that this was the first time this season that he finally felt on par after a lengthy spell of dealing with his own injuries. “It was a physical game; I knew I had to be ready,” Reyna said. “I felt good today; I felt like I got a lot of the ball in what was a very physical game.” 

Reyna hopes to use the international break to further his fitness to play a bigger role for his club team. That might also mean his minutes for the US men’s national team for the upcoming friendlies against Japan and Saudi Arabia could be managed in coordination with Dortmund. “There is definitely going to be coordination when it comes to load management and minutes of play,” Reyna said. “I will be the focal point of that and take the lead in that depending on how I feel. But I am very excited to be back with the [national team].” 

Even with that in mind, playing for the national team will be a major highlight for Reyna so shortly after a massive derby win against Schalke. “I was really bummed on missing out last year,” Reyna said. “It is always nice to get a break from Germany and hang out with Americans, guys I grew up with and have been friends for a long time.”