Germany boss Joachim Low has revealed that important midfielder Lars Bender was forced to withdraw from the World Cup squad due to injury.
The Bayer Leverkusen star picked up a thigh problem during a training camp in South Tyrol, meaning he will not be taking part at the tournament finals.
“When a player is ruled out so close before a tournament then it is very disappointing for everyone,” Löw said in a statement.
“I feel personally very sorry for Lars because I know how much he wanted to be in Brazil.”
Die Mannschaft coach faces a genuine selection headache at the moment as Ilkay Gundogan and Sven Bender didn’t even make the squad because of injury, while Sami Khedira is lacking match fitness.
Bayern trio Manuel Neuer, Philipp Lahm and Bastian Schweinsteiger has also missed some training this week, whilst Miroslav Klose is not fully fit either.
Germany may be seen as one of the main candidates for the trophy, but they could be without several important players in the opening match against Portugal, where die Mannschaft are 1.91 (10/11) to claim maximum points.
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