Joachim Low Upbeat Over Manuel Neuer's World Cup Chances As He Gives Update on Keeper's Fitness

Germany head coach Joachim Low says he's pretty confident Manuel Neuer will be part of his squad for the World Cup.

The Bayern Munich goalkeeper has been out injured since September after suffering a hairline fracture in his foot, but Low has been keeping track of his progress and says Neuer will play for Bayern before the end of the season and is very likely to head to Russia this summer.

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"If a player isn’t involved in any of the pre-tournament games, it’s hard to name him in the final squad. When Manuel was here on Tuesday, we sat down and talked with Andy Köpke and Dr. Müller-Wohlfarth for a while – Manuel is right on track," the World-Cup winning boss said via dfb.de.

"He’s set to play for Bayern again this season and the doctor has assured me that his scar is fine and his bones are growing back together as planned.

"At the moment he’s not able to train properly – he’s at around 90 percent and plans to be back to 100 by the end of the week so that he can start participating fully. 

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"Then he’ll be able to use a few training sessions to make sure he’s ready to play again. I am very confident Manuel Neuer will be in our World Cup squad."

Neuer, meanwhile, insists Die Mannschaft will need him for the upcoming tournament, which he helped win four years ago in Brazil. 

"I think Germany need me and I like being part of the Germany team too," he said earlier this month. "Anybody would like to be involved in a World Cup. I still have aims with Bayern in the second half of the season, and then, of course, the main objective of [playing with] the national team in the summer."