2014 World Cup: Ghana's opponents Germany suffer Lars Bender injury blow

Published on: 23 May 2014

 

Ghana's group opponents Germany have suffered a serious blow as midfielder Lars Bender has been ruled out of the World Cup squad with a thigh injury picked up in training.

The Bayer Leverkusen man, 25, who has been capped 17 times by Germany, has not been replaced by in the squad.

Germany coach Joachim Low has other injury worries including veteran Lazio striker Miroslav Klose, who has yet to train, and Real Madrid's Sami Khedira.

"I feel personally very sorry for Lars because I know how much he wanted to be in Brazil," Low said.

"When a player is ruled out so close before a tournament then it is very disappointing for everyone."

Bender's twin brother Sven failed to make Germany's provisional squad because of groin injury while Mario Gomez and Ilkay Guendogan were not included after injury-hit seasons.

Germany captain Philipp Lahm (ankle) and goalkeeper Manuel Neuer (shoulder) have yet to arrive at their training base in Italy as they recover from knocks.

The three-time World Cup winners have been drawn in Group G along with Portugal, United States and Ghana.

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