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No injury worries for Germany ahead of semi-final

July 06, 2010 15:08 IST

CacauGermany's injury worries have cleared up ahead of Wednesday's World Cup semi-final with Spain, with team manager Oliver Bierhoff declaring that all the squad are fit for the clash in Durban.

Germany will be without suspended midfielder Thomas Mueller but Sami Khedira and Cacau, who have been training separately for the past two days, were available to coach Joachim Loew, said Bierhoff.

Central defender Arne Friedrich, who had a foot problem, also sat out training on Monday but will be ready to play.

"The most important thing is for the coach to be able to pick from all the squad except for Mueller," said Bierhoff who said the team would cope with the absence of the exciting 20-year-old.

"In a tournament a team settles and so Thomas's absence is a little link in the chain missing and he has been outstanding," said the Germany team manager.

"The team have reacted admirably whenever key players (have been) missing," he said.

Germany have several options for replacing Mueller with Cacau and Toni Kroos in the frame but the most likely choice is winger Piotr Trochowski, positionally more of a straight swap.

Source: REUTERS
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