The 26-year-old has been ruled out by his club Cologne for up to a month after a previous injury flared up during Saturday's 4-1 Bundesliga loss to Schalke.

While a club statement said he would be unavailable for "three to four weeks", doubts have been raised as to whether Podolski will make a full enough recovery to be considered for Euro 2012.

He told Bild: "It is bitter enough that it is the same injury all over again and that I am going to miss the coming games.

"I have got to be professional and deal with it and then see to it that I get really fit again quickly.

"I am not setting myself any targets."

Podolski is certain to miss games against Kaiserslautern, Hamburg, Nurnberg and he is also likely to miss the derby with Bayer Leverkusen.

His loss is a major blow to Cologne, who slipped to within three points of the relegation zone at the weekend.