Emre Can has been called up as a late replacement for Aleksandar Pavlovic in Germany’s Euro 2024 squad.
The ex-Liverpool defensive midfielder enjoyed a fine season with Borussia Dortmund, where he impressed in the club’s run to the Champions League final.
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He was originally overlooked by Julian Nagelsmann, but he is now part of his 26-man squad for the competition on home soil.
Bayern Munich starlet Pavlovic had been preferred ahead of the 30-year-old following his breakthrough season at the Allianz Arena.
But the 20-year-old has been ruled out of the tournament due to an infection caused by tonsillitis, Sky Germany have revealed.
Pavlovic, who featured 22 times for Bayern in the 2023/24 season in all competitions, only made his Germany debut against Ukraine earlier this month.
However he was absent for the subsequent friendly with Greece, and has now been forced to withdraw from the squad.
Taking his place is Can, who hasn’t featured for the 2014 World Cup winners since September 2023.
Can was part of Germany’s Euro 2020 squad which saw them dumped out by England at the Round of 16 stage.
However he was a notable omission from both the 2018 and 2022 World Cup squads, where Germany failed to make it out of the group on both occasions.
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Can has surprisingly been preferred ahead of Pavlovic’s Bayern teammate Leon Goretzka – a key omission from the Euro 2024 squad.
Explaining his decision, Nagelsmann said: “We want another No.6 in the squad and have therefore decided to nominate Emre Can.
“He immediately expressed his enthusiasm and willingness to join the team.
“We wanted to have another player in the squad who has played a lot of games and who knows how to deal with the pressure.
“He can well meet the profile that we need now.”
Nagelsmann had been criticised by Can after he failed to inform him he wouldn’t originally be part of his squad.
The former Juventus man stated: “Yes, I would have expected that [a phone call]. I played regularly in the national team and was often part of the team.
“It would have been nice to have at least been briefly informed about the non-nomination in a personal conversation.”
Can, who has been capped on 43 occasions by Germany, is now in contention to feature in the opening match of the European Championship on Friday – live on talkSPORT.
Germany kick off the Euros against Scotland at the Allianz Arena – the ground where Can made his breakthrough as a player in the 2012/13 season.