BERLIN, June 7 (Xinhua) -- Marco Reus will miss the upcoming World Cup due to an injury, the German Soccer Association (DFB) said in an official statement on Saturday.
Germany's worst fears were realized as midfielder Marco Reus suffered a ligament injury during the 6-1 victory over Armenia, at the last friendly before the World Cup in Brazil.
A MRI scan revealed that the 23-year-old Dortmund-born partially tore his syndesmosis ligaments and will be therefore out of action for at least "seven or eight weeks", the DFB confirmed. However, a surgical intervention is not needed.
"This is extremely regrettable for him and for us. Marco was in great shape; he has left an excellent impression in the training camp and in both friendlies against Cameroon and Armenia. He played a central role in our considerations for Brazil," said Loew.
Due to the loss of Reus, Loew called up Sampdoria defender Shkodran Mustafi, who was part of the provisional squad.
"It wasn't our intention to replace Marco Reus one on one. With Lukas Podolski, Andre Schuerrle, Mario Goetze, Thomas Mueller, Mesut Oezil, Julian Draxler and Toni Kroos we have plenty of alternatives on that position. That's why we decided for a defensive option. Shkodran impressed us in the training camp, he is in shape and we know that we can rely on him."
Germany will depart Saturday from Frankfurt am Main airport for Brazil.