German 2014 World Cup heroes' injuries cause concern for Loew

German international coach Joachim Loew is worried about his long-list of injured footballers comprising Thomas Mueller, Manuel Neuer and Jerome Boateng who were part of the 2014 World Cup winning squad.

Other players Sami Khedira, Mesut Oezil, Mario Goetze, Mario Gomez, Jonas Hector and Ilkay Guendogan are struggling on their way back to football action, reports Xinhua news agency.

The lack of several German 2014 World Cup heroes and key performers is a reason to be concerned for national coach Joachim Loew.

"We have enough time to do the fine tuning, but we still need to do some work," Loew commented ahead of Germany's friendly against France this Tuesday evening in Cologne.

Goalkeeper Neuer is in trouble as are central defender Boateng (both Bayern Munich), left back Hector (FC Cologne), midfielders Khedira (Juventus Turin), Oezil (Arsenal) and Goetze (Borussia Dortmund) and strikers Mueller (Bayern) and Gomez (VfL Wolfsburg), besides returning Guendogan (Manchester City).

While Loew is aware of the exercise load of his cornerstones, the German national coach admits the necessity to individually dosage training and games.

"As many of my players have to perform for their clubs, we need to be careful when it comes to the national team. I can see some need individual dosage, but we need a strong team to compete at the 2018 World Cup," Loew emphasised.

--IANS

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