Borussia Dortmund playmaker Mario Gotze has been ruled out of the Champions League final against his future club Bayern Munich with a hamstring injury.
Gotze, 20, has not played since hurting his thigh in last month's semi-final second-leg meeting with Real Madrid.
Champions League final: Germany's greatest football triumphs
Dortmund right-back Lukasz Piszczek will play before he has hip surgery, while striker Robert Lewandowski, 24, may play his final game for the club.
Bayern are at full strength, with long-term absentee Holger Badstuber out.
Germany international centre-back Badstuber is expected to be out until next spring after he ruptured a cruciate ligament in his right knee for the second time this season.
The 24-year-old had recently returned to training after recovering from a knee injury sustained against Dortmund in December, but has now had another operation with renowned US surgeon Dr Richard Steadman in Colorado.
Bayern expect him to be out for another 10 months.
Piszczek has been carrying a hip injury for the last few months and will play at Wembley before having surgery which is expected to keep him out for five months.
Lewandowski - who scored four goals against Real Madrid in the semi-final - has only one year left on his contract and is expected to leave the club in the summer.
Champions League final: Dortmund boss Jurgen Klopp's philosophy
Bayern midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger believes the absence of Gotze - who will join Bayern in the summer for £31m - will hamper Dortmund's chances of adding to the Champions League title they won in 1997.
"When players like Gotze drop out, maybe the team gets a little weaker," Schweinsteiger said. "It would have been the biggest game of his career so I sympathise with him.
"Dortmund will put out 11 players who will give 100% for the cause but I believe it's down to us if we win or lose.
"If we reach our potential then there are only a few teams in Europe who can beat us."
6 Replies
5527 Views