Football
ESPN staff 10y

Germany's Marco Reus ruled out of World Cup

Marco Reus has been ruled out of Germany's World Cup campaign with a partially torn ligament in his left ankle.

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The Dortmund winger rolled his ankle during Germany's 6-1 win over Armenia in a friendly on Friday night, and Die Mannschaft confirmed the extent of Reus' injury on their official website.

Reus' was seen crying on the side of the pitch after being taken off.

He was taken to Mainz University Hospital, according to Bild, which reported Reus tore his anterior tibiofibular ligament between the tibia and fibula, and German press officer Jens Grittner confirmed on Saturday that Reus would not make the trip to Brazil, with Sampdoria defender Shkodran Mustafi called up to replace him in the 23-man squad.

"I really don't know how I am meant to find the words to express how I am currently feeling," Reus wrote on the Dortmund website. "A dream has ended from one second to the next. But I have got to look forwards and be very professional about my rehabilitation because life must go on.

"I will come back, even stronger than I was. My best wishes now go to the whole team and that they reach our goals without me."

Germany coach Joachim Loew expressed his compassion for the 25-year-old on Saturday after his worst fears were confirmed. "It's extremely regrettable both for him and for us," he said. "Marco was in top form and he had made a fantastic impression during our training camp and in both our games against Cameroon and Armenia.

"You could just see how much he was enjoying his football. He had played a key role in our considerations for Brazil.

"It was not about finding a like-for-like replacement for Marco. We have a great deal of quality in that position behind the forwards. We've got enough alternatives with Lukas Podolski, Andre Schurrle, Mario Gotze, Thomas Muller, Mesut Ozil, Julian Draxler and Toni Kroos. That is why we have chosen an extra option for the defence. Shkodran impressed us during our training camp, he's fit and we have faith in him. We know we can rely on him 100 percent."

Podolski replaced Reus in the game against Armenia, scoring once and setting up two more goals.

Germany face the United States, Portugal and Ghana in Group G, with their first game against Portugal on June 16.

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