Germany defenders Mats Hummels and Jerome Boateng were flown to hospital from their World Cup base on Tuesday for scans after suffering injuries in their opening win over Portugal.

Goal-scoring centre-back Hummels had to be helped off after 73 minutes of Germany's emphatic 4-0 win over Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal in Salvador on Monday.

A scan has revealed heavy bruising in his right thigh.

Right-back Boateng finished the match, in which Thomas Mueller claimed a hat-trick, but tore a thumb muscle in his right hand and will need to wear a cast.

The pair were flown to a clinic in Eunapolis, some 60km (37 miles) from the Germans' 'Campo Bahia' World Cup base, for MRI scans.

The luxury mode of transport is deemed necessary by the German Football Association (DFB) given the rugged roads in rural Brazil which make any road journey a lengthy process.

Midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger was flown by helicopter to hospital last Saturday for a scan.

Boateng will be able to play in Germany's next Group G match against Ghana in Fortaleza on Saturday.

Hummels, who scored Germany's second against Portugal with a header, faces a race against time to be fit and it is unclear when he will be able to train again.

The pair were the only ones to miss Tuesday's low-key training session 24 hours after the Portugal win before coach Joachim Loew gave the squad the rest of the afternoon off.

"I plan to just hang out at the pool with the rest of the boys and you can pretty much sum it up with 'rest, fun and games'," said Germany's hat-trick hero Mueller.

"It was good to get the three points and a good start is of course very important to ease a bit of pressure and get a good run going."

The Germans arrived back at their World Cup base in Santo Andre from Salvador on Monday at 2025 local time (2325 GMT) with the Pharell Williams hit 'Happy' blaring out on speakers played by the 60-strong DFB delegation at the team hotel.