A hamstring injury has ruled Borussia Dortmund attacker Mario Gotze out of Saturday's Champions League final against Bayern Munich.
The German international, who will join Bayern during the summer in a deal worth around £32m, has been struggling with the problem since the semi-final second leg against Real Madrid.
He returned to training last week amid reports that he would be fit to take on his future employers at Wembley, but yesterday it emerged that he had limped out of a workout session with his teammates.
In a statement on the club's official website this afternoon, the 20-year-old has now confirmed that he will play no part this weekend.
"That final was my goal, but I have struggled in recent weeks. I'm incredibly sorry for not being able to help the team in this important game. I have full confidence in our team and will travel to London to support off the field," he said.
Gotze's absence is likely to hand a starting role to Kevin Grosskreutz.
Liam Apicella
