Borussia Dortmund defender Christoph Metzelder has ruled himself out of Germany’s plans for EURO 2004.

Metzelder, 23, has not played since last March and was told after having surgery on his achilles for the second time in October that he would need too rest for six months.

“It would not be realistic to think about it,”he stated when asked about his chances of being fit for Portugal. .

“There’s too little time left.”

“The most important thing right now is being reasonable about my comeback plans and making sure I can be as strong as before,” Metzelder told Borussia Dortmund’s magazine, Borussia Aktuell.

Metzelder was one of the revelations of last year’s World Cup helping Germany reach the final.