Podolski will not play in Germany's round of 16 match against Algeria on Monday due to a thigh injury, ESPN FC reports.

Podolski has played sparingly in Brazil, but coach Joakim Low did say that he only needs a few days off and that if Germany advance to the quarterfinals, Podolski will be available.

When asked if he could foresee a return to Germany, Podolski admitted that he would be open to a return to Cologne at some point in the future, reports Sky Sports.

Transfer rumors are often born more out of what is not said than what is actually said, and Podolski did say that he planned on seeing out the rest of his contract with Arsenal. While he might be open to a return to Germany in the future, he doesn't necessarily see it in his immediate future.

Podolski scored twice in Arsenal's 3-0 win on Sunday over Hull City.

Podolski has now bagged a brace in consecutive league outings, bringing his season total to eight goals. A deadly finisher, Podolski faces three of the league's seven worst defensive units in Arsenal's remaining trio of games.

Podolski scored twice during Arsenal's 3-1 win over West Ham on Tuesday.

Podolski was dominant Tuesday playing up front with Olivier Giroud, scoring his fifth and sixth goals of the Premier League season. Podolski is on quite a run recently, scoring three goals and assisting on two others in his last four Premier League appearances.

Podolski scored in the 73rd minute of Arsenal's draw against Swansea City on Tuesday and also produced an assist.

Podolski came on as a second-half substitute and didn't take long to put Arsenal on the board. Then, the German international set up the go-ahead goal just a minute later. Although Podolski boasts 11 goals on the season, just four of those have come in the Premier League and Tuesday's assist was his first of the year.

Podolski's strike in the 47th minute proved the difference in Sunday's 2-1 FA Cup victory over Liverpool.

Podolski filled the stat sheet everywhere on this evening, firing three shots (two on target) and committing four fouls, one which gifted Liverpool a penalty kick. Podolski has shown respectable results over the past few weeks when asked to play, but he hasn't carved out a dedicated starting role just yet.

Podolski said that he never should have left Bayern Munich to return to Cologne in 2009, reports the Daily Mail.

Podolski feels like he rushed home to Cologne when he could have endured some more time in Munich to break into the first team. He added that he might still be at Bayern today had he not made the decision to take the switch.