Borussia Dortmund’s Giovanni Reyna hopes to return from his latest injury prior to the USMNT’s March World Cup qualifiers, insisting he’s ‚pretty positive‘ it can happen. 

The midfielder suffered a blow to his hamstring during Dortmund’s 6-0 victory over Borussia Monchengladbach on February 20. Reyna limped off the pitch mid match with the help of two individuals, visibly upset.  

It was the player’s first start for the Bundesliga side in five months after overcoming an initial hamstring tear that left him sidelined for the majority of the season. 

Now, he hopes to be back in time to feature for the US men’s national team for the first time since last September. 

„I hope I’ll be back before that March window. I’m pretty positive I will be,“ he told ESPN. „I’m doing well now, and then I hope I can be back within the next couple of games for Dortmund.“

Reyna added that prior to the daunting match, he had „felt really good for six weeks.”

„It was kind of just frustrating to see that I felt any sort of discomfort or pain in my hamstring,“ he said. „But thankfully it wasn’t as bad or serious as it could have been last time. So yeah, I’m going to take the right steps in the next week or two and then see where we go.“

Reyna also confirmed that he’s been in constant communication with USMNT teammates and head coach Gregg Berhalter, updating the team as he recuperates. 

„We’ve been consistently talking. We have a relationship that goes farther than just him being my coach. Obviously, we’re really close with each other’s families. I think he would love to have me back and I would love to be back for the national team.“

The United States is set to kick off the last round of qualifiers on March 24, facing North American rivals Mexico at the Azteca Stadium. The team then goes on to host Panama three days later, before finishing the series with a trip to Costa Rica on March 30. 

The American side currently sits in second place on the Concacaf table with 21 points in 11 games and could qualify directly into the international tournament with two victories.