The football world is still struggling to get its head around Leroy Sane’s exclusion from Germany’s World Cup squad.After the season Sane had for Manchester City, the 22-year-old looked as close to a certainty as possible to be in Joachim Low’s squad.But the Germany coach has left Sane out, with Julian Brandt instead being chosen.“That was a very close decision between him and Julian Brandt, which was made in favour of Brandt,” Low explained.“[Julian] Draxler, [Marco] Reus and [Thomas] Muller are set.“Leroy is a huge talent. He will be back again from September. He had not arrived in international matches yet.“It was a very close decision. If it was a 100 metre race, it would have been a photo finish.”

Sane's May 23 tweet

A tweet that Sane sent on May 23 began to do the rounds when his exclusion was confirmed.

The winger had just met up with Germany’s squad to continue their preparations for the tournament in Russia.

He looked incredibly happy as he smiled alongside Draxler.

Sane added the caption: “The adventure starts 🇩🇪✈🏆”.

Unfortunately for Sane, his adventure would last less than two weeks.

That included a 67-minute performance in Germany’s 2-1 defeat to Austria on Saturday, in which he had one final opportunity to impress Low.

Yet the former Schalke man was hugely disappointing, giving the ball away and making a number of poor decisions.

Low clearly hopes that Sane will use this setback as fuel to develop.

It’s incredible to think that the Germany coach couldn’t find a spot for him on the plane to Russia, especially when the talent is so obvious.

Sane was named the PFA’s Young Player of the Year for his tremendous season at the Etihad Stadium.

But adapting to Low’s system has proven difficult.

He has struggled in a central role, failing to score and providing just one assist in 12 appearances for Die Mannschaft, and Brandt offers more in defence.

Time will tell whether Low comes to regret his decision to leave Sane at home.

As for the player, he must be devastated.