Germany’s World Cup campaign has taken a major blow after star winger Marco Reus was injured in Friday’s friendly 6-1 win against Armenia, and ruled out of the tournament.
Reus has reportedly torn his anterior tibofibular ligament, between the tibia and fibula, and was seen in tears on the side of the pitch after he left the field.
According to Bild, Reus was taken to Mainz University Hospital, and while the injury will not need surgery, he may be out for some time.
After the match, German coach Joachim Loew told journalists, “We can only hope that he will be OK. But it looked bad. We can call up another player until 24 hours before the first game."
Reus' non-participation in the tournament was confirmed on Saturday, with Loew quoted by the BBC saying, "For him and for us this is extremely regrettable."
"It is not about us replacing Marco Reus one on one.
"Our quality in the position behind the strikers is very high. We have Lukas Podolski, Andre Schurrle, Mario Gotze, Thomas Muller, Mesut Ozil, Julian Draxler and Toni Kroos to give us plenty of alternatives.
"That's why we decided for another option for the defensive area. Shkodran impressed us in training camp, he's fit, we have confidence in him."
The Germans open their campaign in Brazil against Portugal on June 16 in Group G, where they will also face the USA and Ghana.
