Germany’s Gundogan, Ruediger back training before England tie

Herzogenaurach (Germany) (AFP) – Antonio Ruediger and Ilkay Gundogan returned for Germany’s final training session on Monday before their Euro 2020 last-16 clash against England, with coach Joachim Loew expected to make changes to his starting line-up.

Chelsea centre-back Ruediger had missed training on Sunday with a cold while Manchester City midfielder Gundogan was sidelined with a head knock.

Both recovered to take part at their Euro 2020 base in Bavaria before the flight to London for Tuesday’s fixture with England at Wembley.

Thomas Mueller is tipped to replace Leroy Sane, having shaken off a knee injury.

His Bayern Munich team-mate Leon Goretzka, who scored the crucial equaliser against Hungary in Germany’s final group-stage match, is expected to take over from Gundogan in midfield.

Left-back Robin Gosens described the 31-year-old Mueller as “worth his weight in gold” and said that “he lifts us up a level”.

Mueller scored twice against England in the Germans’ 4-1 last-16 win at the 2010 World Cup — the last meeting of the countries at a major tournament.

“I want to confirm this threat that the English might feel when a Mueller is on the pitch,” Mueller joked on Saturday.

“(But) it won’t do me any good to tell my opponents about 2010 out on the pitch.”

On Saturday, the German FA claimed Joachim Loew’s squad were blocked from holding their final training session at Wembley.

In a statement, a UEFA spokesman said any training would have been “restricted to certain areas of the pitch” to help the turf recover after four Euro 2020 games, but added that “Germany, however, did not ask to train in the stadium”.