Yukhym Konoplya

Konoplya (knee) played the first half of Thursday's 3-0 friendly win over Sportfreunde Siegen, marking his first minutes since suffering an MCL tear at the end of July, according to the club.

Analysis: Konoplya has missed all five of Gladbach's competitive matches this season and is still awaiting his official debut for the club after joining from Shakhtar Donetsk. His return to action comes at a convenient time with the international break offering further training days to build toward full competitive sharpness, giving him a chance to make his case to new head coach Alexander Blessin.

Sep 18, 2026

Still not ready to return

Konoplya (knee) was back in full team training training this week, though Saturday's match against Mainz still comes too soon for him, according to the club. "Kono resumed team training but Saturday's game comes too soon for him."

Analysis: Konoplya has continued building back up after his MCL tear, recently progressing from partial sessions to full team training in his recovery from the nearly two month absence. Despite this significant step, he will need to continue working on his match fitness before he becomes an option for the matchday squad again.