Editor’s note: This piece was first published on May 7 and has been updated on July 5 to reflect Sule’s return to playing football.Niklas Sule has reversed his retirement from football, aged 30, to join German amateur club SV Tiefenbach.The centre-back, most recently of Borussia Dortmund, announced in May that he would retire from playing at the end of the 2025-26 campaign.The former Germany and Bayern Munich defender said that injuries were the primary factor in his decision to step away from the sport. Sule has an extensive injury history which includes two anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tears and 133 games missed in total for club and country in his 13 year-senior career, per Transfermarkt.“I’m really looking forward to experiencing football from a completely different perspective again, where it’s purely about the game itself and not about business or money,” Sule told Sky Sport DE of his return to SV Tiefenbach, a district league team in the Kreisliga Baden-Wurttemberg.“Two of my best friends play for SV Tiefenbach, and one of them is even the coach. After 13 years in professional football, it’s an absolute gift to share the pitch with my mates again and simply enjoy this wonderful sport to the fullest.”Dortmund had previously confirmed that Sule would be leaving the club following the expiration of his contract this summer. Sule sustained a knee injury against Hoffenheim on April 18, with concerns that he had suffered another ACL tear. Scans subsequently revealed that the issue was not as serious as initially feared, though Sule explained that the threat of another significant injury was enough to cause him to call time on his professional career.