Robin Koch admits he feared for Euros place with Germany after difficult season at Leeds United

The 24-year-old Leeds United defender was limited to just 13 starts in his debut Premier League campaign with the Whites.

Koch aggravated a knee issue in December against Chelsea that he had been playing with since the start of the season which saw him undergo the knife in a bid to fix the ongoing problem.

He later returned for the top flight run-in after a long spell on the sidelines before seeing his term ended by a hip injury ahead of the penultimate game of the campaign at Burnley.

As a result, the central defender was granted extra leave by head coach Marcelo Bielsa in a bid to prepare fully for this summer's European Championships.

Despite the treatment room woes, Koch was included in Joachim Low's final 26-man Germany squad for the delayed competition.

"The whole team is looking forward to the tournament finally getting underway. We can't wait and are motivating each other," Koch told the German media ahead of tonight's Group F clash with France.

"I think that the matches I featured in for the national team played a bigger role in my call-up than my move to the Premier League did.

"After my injury, I was counting the days to see if I'd be fit in time for the Euros. In the end, it worked out and I'm here now, which I'm very happy about."

Koch has been deployed as a defensive midfielder mainly at international level under Low's watch, a role he has also been asked to do at club level on occasion.

He is, though, likely to play a part from the bench if called up during the tournament and he is comfortable with his squad status.

"The special thing about a tournament like this is that everyone that's here is fully deserving of being here and is pushing themselves to the limit," he added.

"That also means that every player can become a key figure for the side over the course of the tournament."