German national team goalkeeper and captain of the Bundesliega club Hanover 96 Robert Enke  has apparently committed suicide at the age of 32, by throwing himself in front of a train near his home in the town of Hanover.

He had just made only his second appearance in goal on Sunday after being sidelined for several weeks with a bacterial infection. The infection had made his future with the German national side a clouded issue although German team coach Joachim Low had said that he was still very much in contention for the starting goalkeeper spot on the team that will travel to Johannesburg for the World Cup in 2010.

Enke had been in professional soccer since 1999 and his career spanned Europe, including a short stay at fabled La Liga powerhouse Barcelona.  He had however truly seemed to hit the peak of skills returning home to play in Germany , where the end of the 2008/2009 season saw him win the Bundesliga Goalkeeper of the Year Award too.

He also hit peak form for his country in 2008, putting in solid performances in the Euro 2008 competition  and when former number one keeper Jens Lehman retired at the tournaments end he seemed to be a shoo in for the permanent number one spot.

Now none of that will ever be. While his Hanover 96 team mates were preparing to board a bus to travel to an away game Enke, for reasons no one may ever understand, was preparing to end his life.

Enke and wife Teresa were grief stricken when their two year daughter Lara died in 2006, but the couple had recently adopted an eight month old daughter. The reaction of German soccer officials and fans to the news of his death has been one of complete shock. German team manager Oliver Bierhoff told the press that he and his national side teammates “are in a state of shock. It is beyond words."

Hundreds of fans have gathered all day at Hanover 96’s Niedersachsen Stadion to light candles and lay tributes to their fallen captain. Because of his recent illness Enke had not been selected for the German team that is due to face Chile on Saturday in World Cup action but in the light of the events that have come to pass that game may yet still be postponed.