Mario Gotze starts for Borussia Dortmund — Germany’s 2014 World Cup hero has been out viral infection since December

MARIO GOTZE is back playing football for the first time since December.

The former Golden Boy-winner has been out with a metabolic virus, which saw him plagued with severe fatigue.

However, he is back to full fitness and has been named in Peter Bosz's first Bundesliga line-up as they start the season with a trip to Wolfsburg.

Gotze, who scored the winner for Germany in the 2014 World Cup final, was once considered the best young player in the country's history when he burst onto the scene at Dortmund.

His performances led to him being named the best young player in Europe when he won the Golden Boy award in 2011.

He became the most-expensive German footballer of all-time — a record he held for a couple of months before Mesut Ozil joined Arsenal for £42million — when he sealed a £32m move to Bayern Munich in 2013.

But he struggled to establish himself in Pep Guardiola's team and made his return to Dortmund last summer.

Things didn't improve as fitness problems saw him in-and-out of the team before he was struck down by the virus.

The news be welcomed at Dortmund, where it's been a difficult summer.

Ousmane Dembele has been suspended after skipping training in order to force a move through to Barcelona.

As things stand, however, the French man is staying put as the Catalans have failed to strike a deal.