• Arsenal central defender recovers after training collision
• Germany delay revealing lineup to keep players on edge
Per Mertesacker is fit for Germany's Euro 2012 Group B opener against Portugal on Saturday after an injury scare.
The Arsenal central defender, who had been out since February after ankle surgery and returned to action only a few weeks ago, collided with Jérôme Boateng in training on Thursday.
"There was a bit a of a doubt about him after the collision during a corner. He was lying on the ground but it turned out to be less dramatic," the Germany assistant coach Hansi Flick said before the team's flight to Lviv, Ukraine. "We now have all the players fit and ready to play in our match tomorrow."
Mertesacker is likely to feature in a central defensive partnership with Holger Badstuber, while the captain Philipp Lahm has been switched from right-back to left-back.
It is not yet clear who will play in Lahm's usual position with Boateng and Lars Bender battling for that starting spot. German's coach Joachim Löw will not announce the starting team to the players until a few hours before the game to keep them on edge.
"We have our lineup in our heads. There is some uncertainty among the players whether they will play or not. That is good because it keeps the concentration high right until the end," Flick said
Among those waiting to find out if they will start are the forwards Miroslav Klose and Mario Gomez, with the former looking to have the edge despite the Bayern Munich forward's prolific season as second-top scorer in the Bundesliga with 26 goals.
"Both are top quality strikers and each has their own personal strengths," Flick said. "The last two years Mario has had an impressive goal quota. It is a tight race and Miro has not had a lot of matches [due to a five-week injury break] but he has shown us here that he is ready." Read More
انسخ الكود التالى و ضعه فى موقعك او مدونتك.
