Berlin: Germany striker Lukas Podolski has been ruled out of Wednesday's 2010 World Cup qualifier against Azerbaijan after picking up a minor injury in training this week, the German soccer federation (DFB) said on Sunday.
Podolski had also missed Cologne's season opener, a 1-0 defeat by Borussia Dortmund on Saturday, after feeling some pain in his leg muscle during training throughout the week.
"It would have been too risky to play him in Baku because he could then be out for much longer," Germany coach Joachim Loew said on the federation's website.
Germany are top of European qualifying Group Four, a point ahead of Russia.
Bureau Report
First Published: Monday, August 10, 2009, 08:42