Getting injured this close to a major tournament is a nightmare scenario for a player.
Germany have been dealt an injury blow just days before they begin their Euro 2016 campaign against Ukraine in Lille.
Antonio Rudiger suffered a cruciate ligament injury in the team’s first training session in France on Tuesday afternoon, and has been forced to pull out of the squad.
The 23 year old Roma central defender, who has 11 caps for his country, was due to stand-in for Mats Hummels on Sunday, and possibly in their second game against Poland four days later.
Hummels, who recently signed for Bayern Munich from Borussia Dortmund, has returned to full training following a calf injury, but Germany don’t want to rush him back into action too soon.
Germany coach Joachim Löw can can call up a replacement for the injured Rudiger.
