Shkodran Mustafi Injury: Updates on Germany Defender's Leg and Return

Updates from Tuesday, July 1

Shkodran Mustafi's World Cup is over after he tore muscle fibres in his left thigh during Germany's Last-16 win over Algeria.

FIFA's official World Cup Twitter account confirmed the news, providing quotes from Germany boss Joachim Low, who simply said: "He's not going to play any further part in this World Cup."

Original Text

Germany right-back Shkodran Mustafi was forced to leave his team's round of 16 World Cup clash with Algeria Monday after suffering a leg injury in the 70th minute.    

ESPN Radio shared the news:

Mustafi made way for Sami Khedira, which moved Philipp Lahm to right-back. Many German supporters have been arguing Lahm should've been playing from the start of the tournament, so it all worked out in the end:

The emergence of the 22-year-old Sampdoria defender has been one of the more surprising developments of this World Cup for Germany. Coach Joachim Low is bereft of options at the back, and he was forced to include the centre-back on his final roster for the tournament.

Mustafi came on as a sub against both Ghana and Portugal, but Monday night was his first start of the tournament, as he replaced Mats Hummels in the starting XI.

Germany are a bit thin at the back, so if Mustafi is forced to miss out on any more of their World Cup matches, Low will have a selection headache. (Note: At time of writing, Germany were up, 1-0, in extra time).

This could have been much worse for the team, though, considering Mustafi isn't one of Die Mannschaft's most important defenders. Plus, with Lahm switching to right-back, this injury could be a blessing in disguise.