Following the exclusion earlier this week of VfL Wolfsburg striker Max Kruse from the national squad, there’s more bad news for Nationaltrainer Joachim Löw. Having just returned to full fitness after an earlier injury, it was revealed that skipper Bastian Schweinsteiger has suffered a tear to a knee ligament during training, ruling him out from the two upcoming friendlies – and possibly this summer’s Euros as well.
While it is sad to see FC Bayern’s former Fussballgott stutter towards the end of his international career, this recent development has made things considerably easier for the coach, who had faced increasing criticism from some sections of the German media for selecting a player who hasn’t really been fully fit since the World Cup finals in 2014.
Since his heroic display in Rio, Schweinsteiger has been plagued with injury after injury, and since leaving Germany for Manchester United last year he has hardly featured for the Red Devils. He was appointed as national captain following the retirement of Philipp Lahm, but has led the team just six times out in the fifteen games the Mannschaft have played since the victorious campaign in Brazil.
The question now has to be asked whether Schweinsteiger should be scratched from the rump squad for the Euros, given that he is unlikely to return to optimum fitness before the end of the season. Naturally, this will include the discussion of who should wear the captain’s armband when the team lines up in France.
Following Schweinsteiger’s withdrawal no replacement has been named, reducing the squad for the two upcoming friendlies to twenty-five. At this rate, the German coach will only have a handful of players to choose from when the Euros come around.