Donald was forced to abandon his final round at the US Open

Luke Donald and Ian Poulter have both withdrawn from this week's BMW International in Munich after suffering wrist injuries at the US Open.

Donald pulled out after 14 holes of the final round at Torrey Pines because of soreness in his left wrist.

Poulter, meanwhile, had problems with his right wrist on the second day and quit on 14 over par after 15 holes.

"Ian's been having problems with ligaments in his wrist for about 18 months," said his manager Paul Dunkley.

"It flared up again in practice and his driving stats showed that he wasn't able to hit at full power and it only got worse when he went in the rough.

"He's had ultra-sound treatment since getting home and it's now wait and see how it responds."

Their absence from the BMW is a setback to their chances of making the European team for the Ryder Cup.

Automatic places in captain Nick Faldo's team will go to the top five Europeans in the world rankings and the best five in the European tour money list at the end of August.

Donald currently lies eighth in the former but only 31st in the European order of merit because he spends much of his time playing in the USA.

His brother and caddie Christian said the 30-year-old had struggled right from the start of his final round at the US Open, which was eventually won by Tiger Woods after a play-off against Rocco Mediate.

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"When he teed off on the 15th tee, he just felt something go, something pop. He immediately alerted tournament officials and told them that he didn't think he could go on. He is not sure exactly what the problem is," he commented.

Poulter, 32, also has plenty of work to do as far as Ryder Cup qualification is concerned as he lies 11th and 24th on the two lists and hopes to return to action in France next week.

He was playing with Donald and Paul Casey at the US Open when he decided he could not continue.

"Poults had some issues with his right wrist and you could tell something was wrong because the length of his drives weren't up to his usual standards.

"He got tangled up in the rough a few times. He apologised and said 'For the best of my health I'm going to have to go in'," said Casey.

Despite the absence of Donald and Poulter, the BMW International will still have a strong field headed by defending champion Niclas Fasth and former winners Colin Montgomerie, Miguel Angel Jimenez, John Daly, David Howell, Thomas Bjorn and Henrik Stenson.