Goretzka confident over World Cup fitness following injury-hit campaign

Dom Farrell

Goretzka confident over World Cup fitness following injury-hit campaign image

Germany midfielder Leon Goretzka believes any lingering issues are behind him as Joachim Low's men prepare for their World Cup defence.

Goretzka will join Bayern Munich from Schalke for next season after his dominant midfield performances established him one of the Bundesliga's rising stars.

The 23-year-old suffered a stop-start spell in the middle of the 2017-18 campaign, but has no worries over his body coping with the demands in Russia.

"I feel like I'm in good shape," he said at Germany's pre-tournament training base in Eppan, northern Italy.

"It's been intense over the first few days at the training camp, but I'm at a good level and I'm ready for the upcoming challenges.

"My previous knee injury isn't giving me any issues anymore."

The teenage Goretzka was not involved when Low's side marched to glory in Brazil four years ago, but he was one of the standouts of Germany's next generation as an experimental team lifted the 2017 Confederations Cup in Russia.

He scored three times in four appearances, including an early brace in the 4-1 semi-final win over Mexico, who are Germany's opening Group F opponent at the World Cup.

"There are a lot of young players in this squad," added Goretzka. "I'm one of them at 23 years old, but I've already had the chance to gain a lot of experience in my career.

"I want to give my all in every training session."

Dom Farrell

Dom Farrell Photo

Dom is the senior content producer for Sporting News UK. He previously worked as fan brands editor for Manchester City at Reach Plc. Prior to that, he built more than a decade of experience in the sports journalism industry, primarily for the Stats Perform and Press Association news agencies. Dom has covered major football events on location, including the entirety of Euro 2016 and the 2018 World Cup in Paris and St Petersburg respectively, along with numerous high-profile Premier League, Champions League and England international matches. Cricket and boxing are his other major sporting passions and he has covered the likes of Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury, Wladimir Klitschko, Gennadiy Golovkin and Vasyl Lomachenko live from ringside.