Early setback for Podolski - omitted from Inter’s Europe campaign

Arsenal loanee won’t be part of the Nerazzurri’s Europa League campaign.

Inter Milan have not included Lukas Podolski in their squad for the remainer of their Europa League campaign.

Podolski has made six appearances since joining the Nerazzurri on a six-month loan deal from Arsenal last month.

But former Bayern Munich midfielder Xherdan Shaqiri and Italian defender David Santon, both of whom joined Inter in January, have been preferred for the 25-man list.

According to UEFA's Europa League regulations, three new players can be added to a squad for the knockout stages of the competition.

However, just one of those players can have played in a UEFA club competition group stage match for another club in the current season

So just one of Podolski, who played for Arsenal in the Champions League, or Shaqiri, who represented Bayern Munich in that competition, can feature for Inter.

And Inter coach Roberto Mancini has opted for the Swiss playmaker. Inter travel to Glasgow to face Celtic in the last 32 on February 19th before hosting the Scottish champions a week later.

Santon returned to Inter this week on loan from Newcastle.

The 24-year-old is a product of Inter’s youth team and played for the Nerazzurri from 2008 to 2011. Inter are unbeaten in the Europe this season, but have struggled in Serie A. They lie 10th in the standings, 23 points adrift of league leaders Juventus.