Coach Loew drops unfit Reus from Germany squad for Euro Cup

Munich, May 31 (IANS) Germany manager Joachim Loew on Tuesday named his final squad of 23-players for the Euro Cup in France which does not feature midfielder Marco Reus who is still recovering from an injury.

The 56-year-old has also dropped Karim Bellarabi, Julian Brandt (both Bayer Leverkusen), Sebastian Rudy (TSG Hoffenheim) from his 27-man provisional squad which was announced earlier.

However, he has included veteran players like midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger and Lukas Podolski in the squad.

Speaking about Reus injury, Loew said, "In Marco Reus' case, the medical staff couldn't give us a clear prognosis."

"Marco has serious fitness problems; he can only run in a straight line at the moment. It was a painful decision for both us and him and a real disappointment for everyone. A fit Marco Reus in good form would have been a huge asset for our team."

Germany will face Hungary in an international friendly on Saturday as part of their preparations for the continental championships to be held in France from June 10 to July 10. They will then travel to their base camp for the tournament in Evian.

The world champions will kick-start their campaign with a tie against Ukraine.

The squad:

Goalkeepers: Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich), Bernd Leno (Bayer Leverkusen), Marc-Andre ter Stegen (Barcelona).

Defenders: Jerome Boateng (Bayern Munich), Emre Can (Liverpool), Jonas Hector (FC Cologne), Benedikt Hoewedes (Schalke 04), Mats Hummels (Borussia Dortmund), Shkodran Mustafi (Valencia), Antonio Ruediger (AS Roma).

Midfielders: Julian Draxler (VfL Wolfsburg), Sami Khedira (Juventus), Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich), Toni Kroos (Real Madrid), Thomas Muller (Bayern Munich), Mesut Ozil (Arsenal), Lukas Podolski (Galatasaray), Andre Schurrle (VfL Wolfsburg), Bastian Schweinsteiger (Manchester United), Julian Weigl (Borussia Dortmund).

Forwards: Mario Gomez (Besiktas), Mario Goetze (Bayern Munich), Leroy Sane (Schalke 04)

--IANS

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