Germany lose injured midfield duo

Germany manager Joachim Low has lost midfield duo Toni Kroos and Sven Bender from his squad for World Cup qualifiers with Kazakhstan to injury.

Kroos is missing with inflammation to his knee, while Bender has been forced to withdraw after contracting a virus.

Sven's twin brother Lars Bender is already absent for Germany after pulling out of the squad last weekend with a heel problem.

Low has a mounting injury list to deal with for the double header but has decided not to call up any replacements at this stage.

Mats Hummels, Holger Badstuber and Miroslav Klose are already out with long-term problems, while Marco Reus will miss the first match on Friday through suspension.

Germany currently sit top of of Group C with 10 points, with Sweden and the Republic of Ireland three and four points behind respectively.