Bender out as Klose scores brace

Germany manager Joachim Loew will not be able to call upon the services of Bayer Leverkusen’s Lars Bender for this week’s game against Ireland.  The 23-year-old defender, who was named in the German squad last Friday, has had to withdraw due to a knee injury.

Bender missed Sunday’s Bundesliga game against VfB Stuttgart having been named as an unused substitute in Germany’s wins over the Faroe Islands and Austria last month.

Loew will most likely look to name a replacement for Bender as Germany are already without their suspended captain Phillip Lahm for the game in Aviva Stadium.

Meanwhile, German striker Miroslav Klose is in good form ahead of Friday’s game.  The 34 year old scored twice for Lazio in their 3-0 away win over Pescara on Sunday.  That puts him equal second in the Italian Serie A ‘Capocannoniere’ top goalscorer table with five goals from seven games.