Three-time World Cup champion Germany is on its way to its training camp Campo Bahia in the northeastern region of Brazil, but questions abound on the health of its key players who could affect the country's chances in this year's World Cup.
According to dw.de, winger Marco Reus will miss the tournament after sustaining an ankle injury during a friendly against Armenia. He will be replaced by Shkodran Mustafi. Reus is the latest German player to go down because of an injury, following midfielder Lars Bender and leftback Marcel Schmelzer. Meanwhile, striker Mario Gomez was left off the squad due to fitness problems.
The news that Reus would miss the World Cup is a huge blow to the German side, especially since he is considered an aggressive, super-talent who was expected to make the tournament his own playground.
There are also uncertainties on the status of goalkeeper Manuel Neuer who was not able to play in the team's World Cup warm-up matches. Bayern Munich teammates Philipp Lahm and Bastian Scheweinsteiger, meanwhile, are also having fitness issues and this was obvious when they both played less than 45 minutes against Armenia.
Its 6-1 domination of Armenia was a bit of good news for the team after an uninspired 2-2 draw with Cameroon last week. Mario Götze contributed two goals in 15 minutes to lead the German charge.
The Germans will also rely on their depth, with an attacking midfield that features Mario Götze, Mesut Özil, Lukas Podolski, Andre Schürrle, and Thomas Müller.
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