Germany midfielder Schweinsteiger misses World Cup practice due to a cold

Germany coach Joachim Loew may have to make do without the services of influential midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger in the Nationalelf's second match of the group phase against Serbia.

The Bayern Munich star has picked up a cold and missed Wednesday's training session as a result. However, Germany are hopeful that Schweinsteiger will be fully fit in time for Friday's match.

"Bastian missed today's training session due to his cold. We expect him to return to the training pitch on Thursday though," assistant coach Hansi Flick was quoted as saying in a press conference.


Germany recorded an impressive 4-0 win against Australia in their first match at the 2010 World Cup to take an early lead in their group and they can book a ticket for the first knockout round on Friday with a win combined with a draw between Ghana and Australia.