BERLIN :Newcastle United forward Nick Woltemade is nursing a flu virus and will delay joining up with the German squad for World Cup qualifiers against Luxembourg and Northern Ireland, the team said on Monday.

The 23-year-old has made a strong start since joining Newcastle this season, scoring in the Premier League and Europe, including Sunday's 2-0 win over Nottingham Forest.

Woltemade is quickly becoming a crowd favourite in Newcastle, after Bayern Munich board member Karl-Heinz Rummenigge had called the club "idiots" for paying more than 60 million euros to VfB Stuttgart for him.

"Nick Woltemade will not be arriving today due to a flu virus," the German team said. It did not say when the forward was planning to join the squad.

Subscribe to CNA's Recommended Read A single handpicke

See Full Page