Blow for Germany as Gundogan ruled out of Euro 2016

Germany midfielder Ilkay Gundogan will miss Euro 2016 after sustaining a serious knee injury in training, Borussia Dortmund have confirmed.

The 25-year-old suffered a dislocated kneecap in a training session and will not return to action again until next season, the club stated on Friday.

He will subsequently miss Dortmund’s final two Bundesliga matches of the season, as well as the DFB-Pokal final against Bayern Munich on May 21, and will not be available for Joachim Low’s Germany squad for the finals in France.

Gundogan, who missed Germany’s victorious World Cup 2014 campaign due to a persistent back problem, has recaptured some of his best form this season despite further niggling injuries interrupting the campaign.

The former Nurnberg man had been heavily linked with a move to Manchester City in the coming transfer window, with Pep Guardiola – who will take charge in July – understood to be a keen admirer.

Speaking last March, Gundogan stated that he felt “reborn” as a player after putting the pain of sitting out the finals in Brazil behind him.

“What touches you the most after suffering an injury for so much time, is the fact that you really appreciate your health afterwards when you have recovered,” he said. 

“You appreciate that you spend a day without suffering. For a long time, I already felt pain when I woke up in the morning. If I compared it to now, I feel reborn, I am a whole other man.”

The former Nurnberg man had been heavily linked with a move to Manchester City in the coming transfer window, with Pep Guardiola – who will take charge in July – understood to be a keen admirer.