Injured Götze ruled out of Wembley final

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Borussia Dortmund midfielder Mario Gotze will miss Saturday's Champions League final against Bayern Munich due to a thigh muscle injury, the Bundesliga club said on Wednesday.

The versatile 20-year-old German international, who will join Bayern next season, was injured in the second leg of the semi-final against Real Madrid on April 30 and had been battling to get fit for the final at Wembley.

"That final was my goal, I've struggled hard to be fit in recent weeks and I am incredibly sorry for not being able to help the team in this important game," Gotze said on the Dortmund website.

"I will of course travel to London to support the guys," said the talented player, who had joined team training on Tuesday in a last-ditch effort to be fit for the game.

That raised the unusual prospect of him playing against his new club in the final, but the injury has ended that possibility while also putting a dent in Dortmund's preparations for the final.

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Gregg Davies
Gregg Davies

Gregg Davies is the Chief Sub Editor of FourFourTwo magazine, joining the team in January 2008 and spending seven years working on the website. He supports non-league behemoths Hereford and commentates on Bulls matches for Radio Hereford FC. His passions include chocolate hobnobs and attempting to shoehorn Ronnie Radford into any office conversation.