The German Football Association announced on Saturday morning that the 25-year-old faces a lay-off of six to seven weeks, meaning he will not be fit for the World Cup, shattering his dreams of representing his country in Brazil.

“I really don’t know how I am meant to find the words to express how I am currently feeling,” Reus wrote on his club’s website.

“A dream has ended from one second to the next. But I have got to look forwards and be very professional about my rehabilitation because life must go on.

“I will come back, even stronger than I was. My best wishes now go to the whole team and that they reach our goals without me.”

Germany coach Joachim Low expressed his compassion for the 25-year-old on Saturday after his worst fears were confirmed.

“It’s extremely regrettable both for him and for us,” he said. “Marco was in top form and he had made a fantastic impression during our training camp and in both our games against Cameroon and Armenia.

“You could just see how much he was enjoying his football. He had played a key role in our considerations for Brazil.”

Instead, Sampdoria defender Shkodran Mustafi will be boarding the plane with the rest of the Germany squad on Saturday night.

“It was not about finding a like-for-like replacement for Marco,” Low continued. “We have a great deal of quality in that position behind the forwards.

“We’ve got enough alternatives with Lukas Podolski, Andre Schurrle, Mario Gotze, Thomas Muller, Mesut Ozil, Julian Draxler and Toni Kroos.

“That is why we have chosen an extra option for the defence. Shkodran impressed us during our training camp, he’s fit and we have faith in him.

“We know we can rely on him 100 per cent.”

Reus will not require surgery but will spend the next two months receiving treatment in Dortmund in a bid to be fit for the start of the 2014/15 Bundesliga season at the end of August.

Mustafi has been capped only once, playing the full 90 minutes of Germany’s 0-0 draw against Poland last month having impressed in Serie A last season.