Germany will be missing two notable players this summer in South Africa. Goalkeeper Rene Adler and midfielder Simon Rolfes are both out with injuries.
Adler, Germany's No. 1 goalie, is out since he needs surgery to repair a broken rib. The 25-year-old was injured April 17 while playing for Bayer Leverkusen in a Bundesliga match at Stuttgart.
"It was the most difficult decision of my life," Adler said. "The pain is so severe that, in the long term, I wouldn't have been able to give my best performances in training or in the matches."
Adler became Germany's probable World Cup starter after Hannover's Robert Enke committed suicide in November. Adler's injury leaves Schalke's Manuel Neuer likely to become Germany's starter, with Werder Bremen's Tim Wiese as his likely backup.
"I'm sorry for him," Wiese said of Adler. "I don't know whether I'm the No. 1 now -- that's for the coach to decide."
Rolfes, a 28-year-old defensive midfielder who is Bayer Leverkusen's captain, has not played since an operation on Jan. 26 to remove damaged cartilage from his right knee.
He had surgery on the same knee in July and then again in October. He played just twice after the second operation: as 74th-minute substitute on Jan. 16 and a 81st-minute sub on Jan. 24.
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