Mats Hummels expected to be fit for Germany duty despite back issue

Mats Hummels is expected to be available for Germany’s upcoming friendly matches despite being forced off with a back issue on Saturday.

Not much went according to plan for Borussia Dortmund on Saturday afternoon as they fell to a 2-1 defeat to VfB Stuttgart in the Bundesliga. There was also an injury scare for Edin Terzic’s side, as Mats Hummels was forced to come off after just 28 minutes. The veteran centre-back went off holding his back, with Ramy Bensebaini coming on to replace him.

But Hummels revealed in a post on Instagram on Sunday that he has quite a bit of experience with back problems, which flare up sometimes due to the amount of games he plays. The 34 year old added that he should be fully fit again in 3-4 days’ time.

"“An absolutely awful Saturday,” Hummels said. “Stuttgart were clearly the better team from the first minute and deserved to win. We are lucky that the final score wasn’t significantly higher.”“My back didn’t hold up either, which unfortunately happens from time to time with the number of games we play. Normally it takes 3-4 days to get back to normal (I have experience with it) and then I should be fit again.”"

Back issues have been routinely affecting Hummels this season. But he hasn’t been forced to miss any of Borussia Dortmund’s matches. The centre-back has made a total of 15 appearances for the Black and Yellows so far this season.

Mats Hummels was in Frankfurt on Sunday to attend the NFL clash between the New England Patriots and the Indianapolis Colts. The Germany squad is also due to link up in Frankfurt, before traveling to Berlin to take on Turkey and then heading to Vienna for a friendly match against Austria.

Niklas Süle, Felix Nmecha, Julian Brandt and Niclas Füllkrug are the other Borussia Dortmund players called up by Julian Nagelsmann for the upcoming international break. Although Nmecha has been forced to drop out of the squad due to a hip issue.