German international will not face Bayern at Wembley.
Dortmund have confirmed that Mario Gotze will not play in the Champions League final at Wembley on Saturday, after failing to recover from injury.
The 20-year-old will not be included in the squad for the showpiece event against Bayern Munich, after suffering a setback in his expected return from a hamstring injury.
It ends an area of potential controversy considering he is set to join Bayern this summer, and has suffered an indifferent reaction from Dortmund fans since the news was broken.
He has been plagued with the injury since the Champions League semi-final clash with Real Madrid, and after weeks of rehabilitation aimed at being able to take part in the final, he has admitted defeat in the race to be fit.
“The final was my goal, and I’ve tried hard in recent weeks. I’m incredibly sorry for not being able to help the team in this important game. I have full confidence in our team and will travel to London to support off the field,” he told the official club website.
Coach Jurgen Klopp will undoubtedly have hoped to have a full squad at his disposal for what is arguably their most important game of the season, but has nevertheless coped in Gotze’s absence since he picked up the injury.
With speculation surrounding the futures of several other members of their team, Dortmund have made copious amounts of new fans during their European adventure thus far.
Klopp will now hope that those taking part will remain fully focused on bringing home the Champions League trophy to cap off a remarkable ascent to the top of the European game.
Defender Mats Hummels has also been nursing an injury this week, but is confident he will be fit enough to make the starting line-up.
COMMENTS