Race against time for Matthaus

Matthaus is battling to be fit to face Romania

Lothar Matthaus faces a race against time to prove his fitness for Germany's Euro 2000 opener against Romania.

Matthaus only took part in light training in a closed session on Friday.

Team doctor Hans-Wilhelm Mueller-Wohlfahrt insisted Matthaus would be available for the match, despite only playing for 30 minutes against Liechtenstein.

Playing down his substitution in Wednesday's friendly, he said: "There is no problem.

"Lothar will be able to play on Monday. His substitution was only a precautionary measure."

Caution

But coach Erich Ribbeck later added a note of caution.

"Lothar is experienced. He knows his body well and it's up to him to say whether he can take part in the match.

"All I will say that on Monday every player picked must be 100 per cent fit."

The veteran defender originally strained a muscle in the defending champions' training camp at the end of May and as a result missed the win over the Czech Republic.

Initial injury

He said after the 8-2 defeat of Liechtenstein that his initial injury had cleared up but he developed another leg muscle had tightened sharply.

"The muscle I tore 10 days ago is fine, but another one tightened up in my leg because of the extra work it had to do to compensate for the injured one. That led to a cramp, but it's not a tear."

Should Ribbeck not be convinced Matthaus is fully recovered come his side's opening Group A clash, he will most likely replace the 39-year-old with Carsten Ramelow as he did on Wednesday.