Sami Khedira has defended Bastian Schweinsteiger's selection for Germany's Euro 2016 squad and insisted the Manchester United midfielder remains captain with or without the armband.
Schweinsteiger, 31, missed the end of the domestic season after tearing his medial knee ligament on international duty with Germany at the end of March but returned in time to take part in the pre-Euro 2016 training camp in Ascona and earn a place in Joachim Low's 23-man squad.
Khedira has deputised for the former Bayern Munich man and is likely to retain his place in Low's side at Schweinsteiger's expense but believes that doesn't undermine the his senior colleague's importance within the camp.
"I'm getting tired of questions about the captaincy," Khedira told the official DFB website. "Bastian is our captain. It doesn't change anything if I wear the captain's armband or not. Obviously it's an honour to captain the German national team.
"Basti is very focused and he left a good impression in his first training match. He still has a few days. We are all very glad to have him on board with us."
Germany's midfield options are one of the strongest in the tournament, with Toni Kroos, Mesut Ozil, Schweinsteiger, Khedira and more to choose from, something that Khedira believes will only be to their benefit.
He said: "I played in defensive midfield in Augsburg, but at Juventus I played slightly more attacking. With Bastian, Toni or Mesut and also with Joshua Kimmich and Julian Weigl, who've made a great impression here with us, we have a lot of options for this position as basically any of these players can play in midfield."
Germany have been drawn to face Ukraine, Poland and Northern Ireland at Euro 2016, but Khedira is not fazed by the prospect, even if their opponents employ defensive tactics in a bid to stop the world champions.
He said: "Like in 2014, we simply have to accept the terms that we are facing. Our group opponents Ukraine, Poland and Northern Ireland will all try to catch us on the wrong foot.
"We can't complain even if our opponents play defensive with all 11 players. We know that there is a lot of hard work left to be done and that we will face a headwind at times. We are not dreamers, but we are thinking positively ahead of this tournament. Our work in training is extremely focused."