Heiko Westermann out of World Cup

Germany suffered a further injury blow ahead of the World Cup Sunday when defender Heiko Westermann was ruled out of the tournament with a foot injury. Westermann had fractured a bone in his foot at the end of Saturday's 3-0 win over Hungary. The 26-year-old Schalke 04 player, who has won 19 caps, is a defender but had also been seen as an option to cover in midfield following the injuries that have also ruled out Michael Ballack and Christian Traesch. "Naturally I am devastated because it was my big goal to take part in the World Cup," said Westermann. "I felt fully fit but now the only thing left for me to do is to wish the team all the best at the tournament." Germany coach Joachim Loew, who now has only 24 fit players left from his preliminary 27-man squad, said Westermann's versatility would have been needed in South Africa. "Heiko would have played a very important role at the world Cup for our team. That is because of his multi-faceted play. In training he was in superb physical condition," Loew said. He will have to finalise his squad list by June 1 before the team travels to South Africa on June 6 for the tournament starting five days later. Germany have been drawn in Group D alongside Serbia, Australia and Ghana.