Germany striker Cacau has been ruled out of Sunday's World Cup second round clash with England after sustaining an injury in training.
The striker started the victory over Ghana last time in place of the suspended veteran Miroslav Klose, who is likely to now come back into the side.
Germany team manager Oliver Bierhoff confirmed the injury to the striker - who had previously made two substitute appearances off the bench, scoring the last goal in the 4-0 victory against Australia.
"The injury means he won't be available," Bierhoff admitted before his side travelled to Bloemfontein.
Bierhoff also confirmed there are still question marks over key midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger and defender Jerome Boateng.
Both will be given a fitness test during training on Saturday to see if Schweinsteiger is over his hamstring strain and Boateng has recovered from his calf injury which both suffered in the 1-0 win over Ghana.
"Then we'll see if they have recovered from their injuries and are 100 per cent fit," added Bierhoff.
If Schweinsteiger is ruled out, 20-year-old Toni Kroos is set to deputise but coach Joachim Loe is confident he will cope.
"Toni has self-confidence, he came off the bench against Ghana and he has shown that he is ready," said Loew.
