Borussia Dortmund will likely be without the injured Pascal Gross and Maximilian Beier when they travel to Hoffenheim in the Bundesliga on Saturday.
Dortmund are seventh in the Bundesliga with four games left to play, and are desperate for a top-four finish to secure a Champions League spot for next season.
They have won three of their last four league matches and drew with leaders Bayern Munich, as they battle to make up for lost ground earlier in the season.
Dortmund’s win over Borussia Monchengladbach last weekend was their 900th in the Bundesliga, and it ensured they stretched their unbeaten streak to four games for the first time in 2025.
Dortmund have a good record away at Hoffenheim in recent weeks as well, having won their last four trips to them in the Bundesliga.
However, they could be without two keys players for their visit to PreZero Arena on Saturday.
“Gross has knee ligament problems,” Kovac told a press conference. “I still have some hope, but honestly, I don’t think he will make it.
“Maxi is a similar case. He did not train. He can walk, but running is painful, but I also have not yet given up. But obviously we will not take any risks.”
Both players were injured in last week’s 3-2 win over Gladbach but are not expected to be out too long.
Beier was Hoffenheim’s top goalscorer in the Bundesliga last season with 16 goals. Beier has had a hand in three goals for Dortmund in his last two Bundesliga away games (one goal, two assists), as many goal contributions as he managed across his first 12 top-flight away matches for the club.
Dortmund have 45 points, and are four points behind fourth-placed RB Leipzig, who face Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday. Freiburg (48 points) are fifth and visit Wolfsburg, while Mainz, who travel to Bayern Munich, are sixth with 47.
The Black and Yellow are given an 18.1% chance of finishing in the top four by the Opta supercomputer, though their most likely finishing position is fifth (21.5%).
“The finish is approaching. The feeling I get is during this crunch time every player wants to be there, to go beyond any pain,” Kovac said.
“I am happy that the lads recognise the situation. Everyone can read the standings. Everyone knows what is at stake, and everyone has to increase their focus,” he added.
“It does not matter thinking what can happen on May 17. We have to keep doing our homework and focus only on the next game. We cannot look at the teams in front of us. We just have to keep winning to put pressure on them.”
