© EuroFootball.com
Defender Christopher Metzelder of the German national team and Borussia Dortmund club has dropped out of the lineup due to a knee injury and will not be able to help his national team in the European 2008 qualifying match against Ireland.
The Borussia player suffered an injury in Saturday's match against Stuttgart and will definitely not be fit for the upcoming match next week.
The 25-year-old player's injury has caused a real headache for the new German national team coach Joachim Loew, who has not yet found a replacement for one of the team's leaders. The coach has already lost key defensive players: Per Mertesacker, Roberto Huth, and Jens Nowotny, who will have to miss the match due to various injuries.
Manuel Friedrich and Malik Fathi are expected to start in the main team lineup in the match against Ireland, and at the moment the team's strategist J. Loew is looking for a player who could replace the injured C. Metzelder.
