After 262 days: BVB star ends long injury ordeal | OneFootball

After more than nine months without scoring in a competitive match, a Borussia Dortmund attacking player can finally celebrate again — of all places, in his national team shirt.

Carney Chukwuemeka scored in a competitive match again after 262 days. In Austria’s match against Kosovo, the attacking player netted the goal to make it 2–0 at the time. Austria ultimately won the game 3–1. His last goal in a competitive match came quite a while ago: on January 9 of this year, Carney Chukwuemeka scored in the spectacular 3–3 Bundesliga draw against Eintracht Frankfurt.

At BVB, the Austrian is currently going through a difficult spell. So far this season, the attacking player has only made three brief appearances and is still waiting for his first goal contribution. Regular playing time was also mostly denied to him last season: although Carney Chukwuemeka appeared in 38 matches overall, he was only in the starting lineup ten times. He even completed the full 90 minutes only once.

Carney Chukwuemeka mostly on the fringes at BVB

A key reason for his limited game time is his proneness to injury. Since joining BVB on loan in winter 2025, Carney Chukwuemeka has “only” missed seven matches due to minor knocks, but those in charge at BVB have repeatedly made it clear that the attacking player is still not physically fit enough to be a serious option for the starting eleven in every match. These uncertainties are likely also the main reason why his goal against Frankfurt in January was not followed up sooner.

It should also be noted that the Austrian faces enormous competition in his position at BVB. With Konstantinos Karetsas, Samuele Inacio, Mathis Albert, Maximilian Beier and Ethan Nwaneri, as well as Felix Nemcha, several other players are currently ahead of — or at least level with — the 22-year-old in the pecking order.

Photo: IMAGO

That makes his goal against Kosovo all the more important for his confidence. After a long goal drought, Carney Chukwuemeka has now provided a sign of life — of all places, in the national team shirt. Whether this success will also give him fresh momentum at BVB and earn him more playing time remains to be seen in the coming weeks. For now, though, the Austrian can celebrate his team’s victory and his first goal in almost nine months.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.