Germany manager Jurgen Klinsmann has vowed to consult football's governing bodies to prevent striker Mike Hanke from being suspended for the opening match of the 2006 World Cup.

Under FIFA legislation Hanke will miss the World Cup opener in Munich on May 9 after his dismissal in Germany's 4-3 win over Mexico in Wednesday's Confederations Cup third-place play-off.

"Fair enough the referee made the decision but we will protest against Mike Hanke being suspended for the first World Cup match," insisted Klinsmann. "We will speak with the German Football Federation (DFB) and FIFA about this."

Hanke received a straight red card in the 54th minute for a late tackle on Carlos Salicido and the suspension will carry over to the World Cup and could even amount to two or three matches.

The forward, who will join VfL Wolfsburg from Schalke 04 in the summer, is a fringe player in the German squad having made the step up from the Under-21 set-up.