Germany's World Cup Plans Hurt as Lennart Karl Injured

Germany’s World Cup plans took a sharp hit on Friday as teenage forward Lennart Karl was ruled out of the tournament after suffering a serious muscle injury in training.

The German Football Federation (DFB) confirmed the blow, revealing that the 18-year-old Bayern Munich attacker tore a muscle bundle in the team’s final training session before Saturday’s friendly against the United States in Chicago.

“Lenny tore a muscle bundle today in the final training session and is ruled out because of this injury. Have a good recovery, we're thinking of you,” read the DFB message on Instagram — a stark full stop on what had been a whirlwind rise.

Nagelsmann had already sounded alarm bells earlier in the day. Speaking in Chicago, the Germany head coach admitted Karl’s issue “didn't look good” and confirmed the youngster had been sent to hospital for scans. The diagnosis has now ended his World Cup dream before it even began.

For Germany, it stings. Karl had erupted onto the Bundesliga stage this season, breaking into Vincent Kompany’s league-winning Bayern side and forcing his way into the national team picture with a mix of fearlessness and end product.

He made his first start for Germany in Sunday’s 4-0 win over Finland and justified the faith, registering an assist and looking entirely at home on the international stage. It felt like the start of something. Instead, it becomes a brutal pause.

Nagelsmann and the DFB moved quickly to plug the gap, calling up RB Leipzig midfielder Assan Ouedraogo as Karl’s replacement in the squad. The profile changes, the balance of the attack shifts, and a coach who had embraced Karl’s spark must now redraw his plans on the eve of the tournament.

While Karl’s World Cup is over before it begins, another storyline in the German camp remains very much alive.

Manuel Neuer, recalled in May in a surprise U-turn nearly two years after announcing his international retirement, will not feature against the United States. Nagelsmann confirmed the 40-year-old goalkeeper will sit out the Chicago friendly but expressed hope that the 2014 World Cup winner will be ready for Germany’s opening match against Curacao on June 14.

“At his age, he doesn't need a warm-up phase,” Nagelsmann said. “He knows how to handle high-pressure situations. He's on his way to peak fitness. However, we don't want to take any risks tomorrow.”

So Germany fly into their final preparations with their veteran No. 1 being carefully managed and their brightest new attacking light suddenly gone. The World Cup hasn’t even kicked off, and Nagelsmann is already juggling a puzzle that looks very different from the one he laid out a week ago.