Two days after Germany started their preparations in northern Italy, the Bayer Leverkusen player became the latest injury victim and pulled out of the coach’s 27-man provisional squad. The 25-year-old, who has scored four times in 17 international appearances, picked up a “combined” muscle and tendon injury in his right thigh in training on Thursday evening and will now leave the camp. His bad luck follows that of his twin brother, Sven, who failed to make the squad because of injury, and throws the door open for the unexpected call-up Christoph Kramer to claim a World Cup spot.
“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.”
Bender is the latest German to suffer injury, with the captain, Philipp Lahm, and the first-choice keeper, Manuel Neuer, out for days and still to arrive in Italy because of knocks. Their Bayern Munich team-mate Bastian Schweinsteiger is also yet to begin training with the squad as he works on his fitness following a knee inflammation, while Real Madrid’s Sami Khedira is also just back from a cruciate ligament tear last year.
Miroslav Klose, their leading striker, is racing to be fit in time for the tournament after an injury-plagued season at Lazio and has also yet to train with the team. Several other players, including the regulars Mario Gomez and Ilkay Gundogan, did not even make the provisional squad after failing to return to full fitness from long injury absences this season.
The three-times World Cup winners have been drawn in Group G along with Portugal,USA and Ghana.
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