Mats Hummels seeks treatment for knee injury

Germany defender Mats Hummels is undergoing treatment for a knee injury but should be fit to play in the World Cup final on Sunday, team manager Oliver Bierhoff said on Wednesday.

Hummels asked to be taken off at halftime in the World Cup semi-final against Brazil on Tuesday due to the injury. He first hurt his knee in Germany's 4-0 win over Portugal at the start of the tournament.

"Everyone's OK except for Mats Hummels and he's getting further treatment," Bierhoff told German TV, adding the players were given the day off on Wednesday. "It's a precautionary measure. We assume he'll be able to play in the final."

Hummels was also spotted walking on the beach on Wednesday with a smile outside his team's quarters, although he appeared to be limping slightly.

Germany team spokesman Jens Grittner said Hummels, 25, was suffering from tendonitis in the knee.

"We'll have to see what happens and take it one day at a time," said Grittner.

Scored 2 goals in 5 matches

Hummels, who scored Germany's match winner in a 1-0 victory over France in the quarter-final and a goal in the win over Portugal, told reporters in Belo Horizonte that he had felt pain in the knee in warm-ups and that it got worse in the first half.

"I've had problems with it for a few days," Hummels said. "But for the first time it didn't go away after warm-ups. In the match it got worse and worse." He said he asked to come out at half time when Germany were leading 5-0 en route to a 7-1 win.

"I made the decision that it's perhaps better to take myself out so that I wouldn't break anything," he said. "We'll have to see exactly what it is. It's not something tiny but fortunately I don't think it's anything that would endanger Sunday."

Hummels added: "I hope that we can take care of it by Sunday. It would be really stupid to miss the final."