Heiko Westermann Ruled Out Of World Cup

Heiko Westermann suffered a broken bone in his foot during Germany’s recent friendly with Hungary. The injury will rule the versatile defender out for weeks. Westermann’s injury comes on the back of injuries to key players in the Nationalelf team, like Simon Rolfes, Christian Traesch, Michael Ballack, and Rene Adler.

Westermann’s presence will be missed in South Africa this summer, especially because of his versatility. Westermann, who can play anywhere along the backline, can also slot into the defensive midfield position, where the Germans are so light after injuries to Simon Rolfes and Michael Ballack.

Now, it is up to Joachim Low to call up a replacement for the injured Westermann. Could the return of Torsten Frings be around the corner?

Frings, who has had a falling out with national coach Joachim Low, would have been the perfect man to replace the injured Michael Ballack. Now, with really only two holding midfielders in the squad, Schweinsteiger and Khedira, Frings’ leadership and ability to play that role would be a blessing a German side falling victim to a very untimely injury crisis.