Schalke setback for Pander

Second operation
The 22-year-old sustained the original cruciate injury while preparing to make his Germany debut back in April, and has not played since. He recently returned to training with Schalke, but further surgery was required to remove a clip from his knee which had been hampering his progress.

International class
Pander is considered Germany's best option for the left-back position along with FC Bayern München's Philipp Lahm, who has also just recovered from a cruciate ligament injury. He has made 24 Bundesliga appearances so far, scoring one goal.