Football
Stephan Uersfeld, Germany correspondent 8y

Germany defender Mats Hummels doubtful for first game at Euro 2016

Mats Hummels has revealed he faces a race against time to be fit for Germany's first Euro 2016 match against Ukraine on June 12.

Hummels, 27, suffered a torn calf muscle in the DFB Pokal final on May 21 as Borussia Dortmund were beaten by Bayern Munich -- who the defender joined last week.

He has not trained since, and missed Germany's 3-1 defeat against Slovakia on Sunday night to stay behind at the national team's pre-tournament base in Ascona.

"You probably won't see me in team training here in Ascona," Hummels told Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung.

The centre-back added that his injury might take more time to heal than expected, but his involvement in the tournament was not in danger.

"It depends on how I feel, and how the coach [Joachim Low] sees me in training once I am back," Hummels added. "It would be great to make the first match, but I would not have a problem if it's the second or third.

"The main thing is that I am at 100 percent, I won't be able to help the team otherwise.

"You can never exactly foresee what will happen, but if everything goes according to plan, it will work out."

Thomas Muller, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Karim Bellarabi and Marco Reus all missed the defeat to Slovakia with injury concerns. Manuel Neuer, Toni Kroos, Mesut Ozil and Lukas Podolski were also rested for the warmup game in in Augsburg.

After taking on Ukraine, Germany play Poland four days later, before facing Northern Ireland in the last group match on June 21.

Germany must submit their 23-man squad for the tournament on Tuesday, with Low yet to make his final selection.

"We as the coaching staff will sit down with the medical department, and we'll reach a decision," Low said after the defeat on Sunday. "If our doctor [Hans-Wilhelm] Muller-Wohlfahrt says that a player can't do the full workload next week, I will adjust my plans to it."

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