Manuel Neuer has withdrawn from the Germany squad to face Argentina on Wednesday. The FCB keeper suffered pelvic bruising in Sunday evening’s 2-1 victory over Borussia Dortmund in the pre-season DFL Supercup and will remain in Munich for treatment this week. Neuer informed Germany supremo Joachim Löw of the news by phone after Sunday night’s game. The coach immediately called up Mönchengladbach shot-stopper Marc-Andre ter Stegen as a replacement.
As a result, Germany's first international fixture since their semi-final exit at Euro 2012 is likely to feature four Bayern stars. Holger Badstuber, Jerome Boateng, Thomas Muller and Toni Kroos have all been named in coach Löw’s 19-strong squad for the midweek friendly against the two-time world champions in Frankfurt.
Apart from Neuer, Löw is without injured FCB men Bastian Schweinsteiger and Mario Gomez, and his regular captain Philipp Lahm, who has been left out of the squad due to the imminent birth of his first child. “Philipp was really keen to play, but after a long telephone conversation I came to my decision in the light of his personal situation," Löw was quoted as saying in a German FA (DFB) press release.
New signings go head-to-head
Apart from the four Germany players, a further six Bayern stars have been called up to their respective national teams. New France boss Didier Deschamps has summoned Franck Ribéry into his squad of 22 for a friendly in Le Havre against Uruguay, who finished fourth at the 2010 World Cup. Elsewhere, Anatoliy Tymoshchuk will captain Euro 2012 co-hosts Ukraine in a meeting with the Czech Republic.
The midweek programme also features two internal Bayern contests when Belgium host the Netherlands and Croatia play Switzerland. Daniel van Buyten and the Red Devils take on the Dutch with Arjen Robben in Brussels, while summer signings Mario Mandzukic and Xherdan Shaqiri are set to go head-to-head in Split.
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