Germany's rising star Thomas Mueller was left needing stitches to a chin injury after falling off a mountain bike at his team's World Cup training camp in northern Italy on Wednesday.

The 20-year-old attacking midfielder, who won the league and cup double with Bayern Munich last season, fell from his bike as part of the team's training and was left with a cut knee and a gash on his chin, the DFB confirmed.

He received stitches from the German Football Federation's (DFB) doctor Josef Schmitt, but the DFB stressed Mueller has no muscle or bone injuries after the crash in the Alps near Eppan.

The German team have been hit by a spate of injuries ahead of the World Cup, which starts on June 11, with midfielders Christian Traesch and captain Michael Ballack both ruled out of the month-long tournament with ankle injuries.

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