Lahm and Neuer join Germans, Loew shuts doors

Coach Joachim Loew welcomed Philipp Lahm and Manuel Neuer into Germany's pre-World Cup camp on Saturday before holding a closed doors training session on Saturday to fine-tune their Brazil 2014 plans. German captain Lahm, who has laboured with an ankle injury, and goalkeeper Neuer (shoulder) finally joined the squad late on Friday having missed the first few days in north Italy where Loew's squad assembled on Wednesday for their 10-day camp. The Bayern Munich pair had remained in the Bavarian capital to receive intense treatment from the German Football Association (DFB) medical staff under head doctor Hans-Wilhelm Mueller-Wohlfahrt. Arsenal centre-back Per Mertesacker has also joined the Germans having missed the first three days after the birth of his second child. His Gunners team-mate, attacking midfielder Mesut Ozil, was unable to train on Saturday due to a slight cold. "I'm glad that in addition to Per Mertesacker, now Philipp and Manu have joined the team," said Loew. "Even if they could not initially train with us, their presence is important. "The squad is almost complete, now we are only missing (Real Madrid's) Sami Khedira, who will join us after the Champions League final." For the first time since the Germans have been in camp, Loew trained behind closed doors on Saturday with a match against Germany's Under-20 squad planned for Sunday. After defensive midfielder Lars Bender dropped out of the World Cup on Friday with a thigh injury, Loew has opted not to replace the Bayer Leverkusen star. Germany's vice-captain Bastian Schweinsteiger (knee tendinitis), Lahm and Neuer all trained individually in the German camp's fitness centre on Saturday morning as they recover from injuries as Loew was able to put 19 of his 25-man squad through their paces. Germany have two final pre-World Cup friendlies, before flying to Brazil on June 7, when they play Cameroon in Moenchengladbach on June 1 and Armenia in June 6 in Mainz ahead of their opening Group G game in Salvador on June 16. Source: AFP