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Gladbach without injured Stranzl for final four games

Borussia Moenchengladbach's Martin Stranzl is challenged by Sevilla's Carlos Bacca (L) during their Europa League round of 32 second leg soccer match in Moenchengladbach February 26, 2015. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski

BERLIN (Reuters) - Borussia Moenchenglabdach will be without captain Martin Stranzl for the remainder of their season as they battle to secure their first Champions League group stage qualification, the club said on Monday. The Austrian central defender, who has made 30 appearances for Gladbach in all competitions this season but has been out this month with a knee injury, will now have to rest despite his efforts to come back. "I have done individual training in the last week but I had to stop because the knee is reacting to the effort," Stranzl said in a statement. Gladbach, who have the league's second best defence behind champions Bayern Munich, are third in the Bundesliga, two points ahead of Bayer Leverkusen in third, and four behind VfL Wolfsburg, in second. The top three win an automatic spot for the Champions League group stage with the fourth needing to playing in the competition's qualifying stages. (Reporting by Karolos Grohmann)