XtraTime Web Desk: German stopper Mats Hummels ruled out ahead of a crucial game against Sweden on Saturday. The defender has suffered from a cervical vertebrae injury, and won’t be able to take part.
Germany’s World Cup got off to a terrible start against Mexico last week. The reigning world champions looked uninspiring, to say the least as they fell to a 1-0 defeat to their opponents across the Atlantic Ocean – a loss that was hugely unexpected from Joachin Low’s men.
This means that Die Mannschaft must beat Sweden if they want to avoid fears of being knocked out of the World Cup at the first stage – having only won the trophy four years ago in Brazil.
But now there’s been another setback in the form of Hummels’ fitness. According to German reporter Marcus Bark, the 29-year-old will miss out on Saturday against the Swedes due to cervical vertebrae damage.
Elsewhere in Group F, Mexico takes on South Korea and will be looking to secure their second set of three points in order to strengthen their grip on making it to the last 16.
Should Germany beat Sweden, they’ll be tied on points with Saturday’s opponents, and it will all boil down to the final day of their group to determine who gets knocked out and who stays.
In regards to Hummels, it’s yet to confirm exactly how long he will be out, nor is there any information on the severity of the injury to even make educated guesses towards his spell on the sidelines. It seems as though it is simply a waiting game at this point.