Berlin - Arab Today
Goalkeeper Manuel Neuer insists an injury-hit build-up has not affected Germany ahead of their FIFA World Cup™ opener against Portugal on Monday in Salvador.
Joachim Low's side have endured a heavily disrupted run-up to Brazil 2014, with midfielders Lars Bender and Marco Reus ruled out by injury.
Key players including Philipp Lahm, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Neuer also picked up injuries at the end of the domestic season.
Real Madrid midfielder Sami Khedira, meanwhile, only returned in May after spending six months on the sidelines with a knee injury.
After intensive treatment, the quartet are all available to face Cristiano Ronaldo-led Portugal in Monday's mouthwatering clash - and Neuer is confident they are ready.
"Those are things which are part of football, nobody wants to be injured, but it has affected our leading players," he said.
"We weren't always available, but we were constantly attached to the national side. We all came together in the final few training sessions and the most important thing is that the German team which plays will be 100 per cent fit."
Neuer injured his shoulder in Bayern Munich's German Cup final win over Borussia Dortmund on 17 May, but insists he now has full movement in the joint.
"I feel well and fit, I have no limitations whatsoever and I have trained fully; I feel upbeat," said the 28-year-old.
Neuer believes Monday's opening Group G clash at Arena Fonte Nova is too close to call, with Ghana and USA also awaiting the Germans.
"We know we are facing a strong opponent who have been successful in recent years - it's almost like a final," he said.
Source: AFP