The Manchester United midfielder has not played since suffering a partial ligament tear in his knee while on global duty in March, but is included alongside former Arsenal forward Lukas Podolski.
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The midfielder, who played a pivotal role in Germany winning the World Cup in 2014, has earned 114 global caps for his country.
Loew presented his provisional squad for the Euro 2016 in France and named youngsters Joshua Kimmich, Julian Brandt and Julian Weigl along with veterans Lukas Podolski and Bastian Schweinsteiger, among others. “It was a very hard decision, but we’re convinced by it”. “If he doesn’t make it, which we hope will not be the case, then we’ll decide what to do”.
Despite an underwhelming season at Galatasaray, Lukas Podolski was initially picked for what could be his seventh consecutive tournament.
‘We have to wait a bit, but I assume that he will make it, ‘ Low said.
Dormund’s Gundogan is out with a knee injury, while Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Christoph Kramer has missed out after a poor season. Philipp Lahm, Per Mertesacker and Miroslav Klose all retired after Germany’s World Cup win in 2014.
Mario Gomez of Fiorentina, who spent the last season at Besiktas, is the only out-and-out striker included in the squad.
Both Schweinsteiger and Podolski will be playing in their fourth European championships.
Bayern Munich goalkeeper Manuel Neuer is the undisputed No. 1, with Leverkusen’s Bernd Leno and Barcelona’s Marc-Andre ter Stegen providing backup.
They will kick-off their trainings camp in Asocona, Switzerland on May 24 before their encounter with Slovakia for a friendly in Augsburg five days later.
“We’re not getting carried away – we know we are not unbeatable – but we are confident”.
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Germany’s first game is against Ukraine in Lille on June 12. “We are strong but not unbeatable”, Low said with a view to the tournament.
