Leeds United defender Robin Koch has admitted he worried he would miss the European Championships when he was out with a knee injury earlier this season.
The centre back, who arrived at Elland Road in an £11.7m deal from Freiburg in the summer, was a regular for Leeds at the beginning of the campaign.
However, a knee injury picked up just nine minutes into a clash with Chelsea at the beginning of December saw him miss 16 league games.
That absence looked to have put an end to his chances of making it to the Euros with Germany, having been almost a shoo-in for Joachim Low’s squad beforehand.
He returned from injury in the middle of March and, after a slow reintegration, has played 90 minutes in both of Leeds last two games.
He is likely to get similar game time between now and the end of the season, the perfect opportunity to show himself off to those in charge at Germany.
“Of course, after the injury break, the first thing for me is to be there,” he told Sky Germany.
“Before that, I have received feedback from the coaching team that they were very satisfied with my games for the national team.
“And yes, I was also satisfied with the games, showed good performances and also the qualities that I can bring to the team.
“Then with the injury, it is logical that one then thinks: Can I make it in time? But now I feel good.
“I’ve now played for 90 minutes twice in a row, and I’m completely fit again. So I’m relieved for now that I made it in time in terms of time.
“Recently, there was no contact. But during those days, I was in contact with the doctors from the DFB team.
“Of course, they are also following it and are happy that I’m back on the field. They also asked how things are going and how my knee is behaving.
“But there has been no contact with the national coach for the past two weeks.”
