German coach Joachim Low has disclosed that Lukas Podolski is a major doubt for Germany's clash in the quarter-finals with Portugal due to a calf muscle problem.

The influential Bayern Munich striker sustained the injury prior to the Germans vital 1-0 victory against Austria on Monday evening but played nevertheless because of the importance of the match. Now Löw is privately conceding that Podolski will be unavailable for Thursday evenings clash in Basel against the Portuguese.

The Germany coach told reporters that the player is suffering from a calf strain that resurfaced during the second half against Austria. He went on to say that the squads medical team will try to do their upmost over the next couple of days in an attempt to get him fit, but there will definitely be a question mark over his participation.

Germany have scored four goals so far in this year’s Euro 2008 tournament and Podolski has scored three of them, scoring both goals in  their 2-0 win over Poland in the first match while also adding to his tally with a goal in the 2-1 reversal by the Croats.