Borussia Dortmund attack: Marc Bartra 'doing better' as he begins recovery from injuries suffered in bus incident
Three explosions saw the windows of the bus shattered as the squad headed to the Champions League tie with Monaco with defender Bartra suffering a serious injury to his arm
Your support helps us to tell the story
As your White House correspondent, I ask the tough questions and seek the answers that matter.
Your support enables me to be in the room, pressing for transparency and accountability. Without your contributions, we wouldn't have the resources to challenge those in power.
Your donation makes it possible for us to keep doing this important work, keeping you informed every step of the way to the November election
Andrew Feinberg
White House Correspondent
Marc Bartra is "doing much better" as he begins his recovery from injuries sustained in Tuesday evening's attack on the Borussia Dortmund team bus.
Three explosions saw the windows of the bus shattered as the squad headed to the Champions League quarter-final first-leg tie at home to Monaco with defender Bartra suffering a serious injury to his arm.
The match was subsequently postponed until this evening with police now confirming they have detained one suspect and are treating the incident as a suspected terrorist attack.
Bartra underwent an operation on Tuesday night after breaking the radial bone in his arm and debris lodged in his hand as a result of the attack.
But the Spaniard has now confirmed he is on the mend following a harrowing 24 hours.
"Hello everybody! As you can see I am doing much better," he wrote on Instagram accompanied by a picture of him smiling. "Thank you everybody for all your support and your messages!
"All my strength to my team mates, supporters and fans and to @bvb09 for tonight's match! #HejaBVB."
Meanwhile, Dortmund chief executive Hans-Joachim Watzke has also urged his players to show their club does not bend to "terror and hatred" in an emotional changing-room address.
Watzke admitted the bomb attack on the team bus which led to the postponement of their meeting with Monaco, and left Bartra with a broken wrist, had left the team needing to come to terms with the "incomprehensible" very quickly.
And he said that when the team take to the pitch this evening they would be playing "for everyone - no matter whether Borussia (Monchengladbach), Bayer (Leverkusen) or Schalke supporters".
"The BVB family was always especially strong when it had to cope with difficult situations. This is perhaps the most difficult situation that we have faced in the past decades. I am sure that we will show ourselves as a strong and united BVB like never before," Watzke said in a statement on the club website.
"We do not just play for us today. We play for everyone - no matter whether Borussia, Bayer or Schalke supporters. We want to show that terror and hatred can never dictate our actions. And of course we play for Marc Bartra, who wants to see his team win.
"We ask all BVB fans to support our team today with total energy for 90 minutes. This team had to process the incomprehensible in a short space of time. We should all help you to come to terms with it.
"I just appealed to the team in the changing room to show society that we do not bend before terror."
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments