Germany's Euro 2000 hopes have been dealt a blow with the news that Oliver Bierhoff will miss his country's final two group games after injuring his calf in training.

	Oliver Bierhoff: Plays no further part (TonyO'Brien/Allsport)

The 32-year-old AC Milan striker was forced to limp out of training yesterday after injuring his right calf.

And after an examination at the team's Vaal training base in Holland it was revealed he would be unable to play for eight to 10 days - ruling him out of Saturday's crucial showdown with England in Charleroi.

Bierhoff, who scored the winning 'golden goal' when the Germans beat the Czech Republic in the final of Euro 96, had been training for half an hour when he pulled up after attempting to trap the ball with his right foot.

The German skipper, who is also out of contention for the game against Portugal next Tuesday, had a bandage and ice applied to his leg.

'I felt a blow on the calf when I stopped the ball, as if someone had thrown a stone at me,' said Bierhoff.

'It was chaos. I have never experienced anything like that.'

Paulo Rink and Ulf Kirsten could now take his place up front, but under-fire coach Erich Ribbeck may decide to opt for giant Bayern Munich forward Carsten Jancker.

Meanwhile, Lothar Matthaus refused to become the scapegoat for Germany's disappointing start to Euro 2000, as the row over his place in the national team continued.

Several of the 39-year-old's teammates have made anonymous criticisms of him in the German press after his lacklustre performance during the 1-1 draw against Romania on Monday.

Matthaus has hit back saying: 'If somebody can't say to my face what he has against me, then I feel sorry for him. If no individual has the nerve, then five can come. But there aren't that many who can put up their hand if they are asked whether they played well.

'I won't allow myself to be made the scapegoat,' he told Bild.

Meanwhile, Bierhoff side-stepped the furore surrounding Matthaus.

Asked if there was opposition to Matthaus within the squad, Bierhoff said: 'That is not for me to judge. The trainer must decide whether to include him in his plans. Lothar can help the team with his experience.

'For the rest, we players should not comment in public. We will of course continue to discuss internally.

'We have 22 players with 22 different opinions. But at the end of the day what counts is getting our performance right on Saturday.'