Germany to miss Schweinsteiger

Bastian Schweinsteiger will miss Germany's two UEFA EURO 2008™ qualifiers next month because of a persistent knee injury.

Thinking ahead
The 22-year-old FC Bayern München midfielder will miss the home matches against San Marino in Nuremberg and Slovakia in Hamburg on 2 and 6 June respectively. He is hopeful a rest will ensure his fitness in time for the 2007/08 season, with Bayern having endured a miserable end to the current Bundesliga campaign. "I would have liked to play those two games, but the club comes first," Schweinsteiger said. "I don't think Bayern would be happy if I came back from the summer break injured." Germany are top of Group D, level on points with the Czech Republic and the Republic of Ireland.