Robert Enke, the goalkeeper of the German national football team, was found dead yesterday after reportedly jumping from a railway bridge into the path of a train.

Enke played in a league game for his club Hannover 96 only last weekend. He had missed Germany’s last four international games, though, after suffering a stomach infection. He had also been overlooked in selection for two games to be played this month against Chile and Ivory Coast.

Nevertheless he was regarded by Joachim Löw, coach of the national team, as the country’s No 1 goalkeeper and was expected to play in the football World Cup in South Africa next year. The 32-year-old had been regarded as a natural successor to Oliver Kahn and Jens Lehmann — two veterans who dominated the key position in the national team for many years.

“I don’t know why and how this happened,” said Martin Kind, the chairman of Hannover 96. “All I can say for sure is that it had nothing to do with football.”

Oliver Bierhoff, the manager of the national team, said: “We are all stunned, struck dumb,” after telephoning members of the squad last night.

Fellow players said they believed that Enke had been suffering depression. “He was unstable,” said Mr Kind. “But he kept it under wraps.”

Three years ago Enke’s two-year-old daughter Lara died from a defective heart valve. With his wife, the professional player had recently adopted a baby daughter.

Enke is believed to have jumped from the bridge — in the town of Neustadt am Rübenberge, near Hanover — at 6.30pm yesterday.

In Germany, there has been an increasing debate about the prevalence of depression in the sport since Sebastian Deisler, a former national player, revealed his struggle with mental illness. In football, goalkeepers are regarded as particularly vulnerable, because they are often seen as responsible for defeats in games. David James, England’s goalkeeper, writing some time ago about stresses faced by players, said that goalkeepers were under intense scrutiny and that increased the mental pressure.

Police last night said that Enke’s death was being treated as suicide.