German defender Mats Hummels is in a race against time as the centre-back works towards fitness for the World Cup final after a knee injury forced him to leave Tuesday's semifinal match against Brazil.
Hummels was taken out of the match at halftime with his side up 5-0 and was replaced by Per Mertesacker.
Hummels is suffering from tendinitis in his knee, according to the team's spokesperson, Jens Grittner.
Even though Mertesacker is a competent replacement for Hummels, team officials expect the 25-year-old to be fit for Sunday's match.
"It’s a precautionary measure. We assume he’ll be able to play in the final," team manager Oliver Bierhoff told German media, via the Daily Mail.
Hummels has been playing with the injury since Germany's 4-0 win over Portugal in the group stage of the tournament and says Tuesday's match was the first time the pain failed to go away. He first felt discomfort in his knee during warm-ups on Tuesday, but the pain got increasingly worse as the game progressed.
"I made the decision that it’s perhaps better to take myself out so that I wouldn’t break anything," Hummels said. "We’ll have to see exactly what it is. It’s not something tiny but fortunately I don’t think it’s anything that would endanger Sunday."
