The German FA Play Down Mesut Ozil Injury Fears As World Cup Nears

The German FA played down reports of a serious injury for Mesut Ozil…

The German FA released a statement through their official Twitter account to play down recent reports which indicated that Mesut Ozil could potentially miss the World Cup with knee and back injuries.

Ozil started and scored in Germany’s warm-up game against Austria last week, though he had to be withdrawn before full-time after a suffering a knock to his ankle.

While the injury seemed innocuous at the time, German publication Bild ran an exclusive claiming that the Arsenal playmaker’s World Cup future is in doubt.

The 29-year-old missed the final four games of the Premier League campaign with what Arsene Wenger described as an ongoing back injury, something many fans looked at with a bit of scepticism.

It seems that Ozil has been struggling, but the German FA have refuted claims the midfielder may miss the World Cup, and instead confirmed that he was given a period of rest ahead of the tournament.

As a precaution, @MesutOzil1088 didn't take part in final training today, completing running exercises instead. He is out of #GERKSA with a minor bruise to his left knee.#DieMannschaft #ZSMMN pic.twitter.com/9iV8vl9rZD

— Germany (@DFB_Team_EN) June 7, 2018

According to the German FA, Ozil will sit out their final warm-up game against Saudi Arabia with a knee issue but that it isn’t a long-term issue.

A successful World Cup will only benefit us given how much Ozil relies on his confidence, especially if he’s to get into new manager Unai Emery’s plans.