The duo have both been forced to pull out of Joachim Low’s squad for next week’s games due to ankle injuries
Germany have been hit by the news that Mario Gotze and Bastian Schweinsteiger have both been forced to withdraw from the squad for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Austria and Faroe Islands.
Schweinsteiger has failed to recover fully from an ankle sprain which forced him to miss the European Super Cup final against Chelsea on Friday, while Bayern Munich team-mate Gotze faces two weeks on the sidelines following a challenge from Ramires in Prague which saw the Chelsea midfielder issued with a second yellow card.
As a result, both midfielders have opted to pull out of Joachim Low’s party to face Austria and Faroe Islands in order to continue their recovery in Munich.
Schweinsteiger, who has 98 caps to his name, was expected to be fit for the clashes after scans on his injury sustained in the 1-1 draw with Freiburg suggested the damage to his ankle was minimal.
Low has opted against calling up a replacement at present, despite already missing Ilkay Gundogan and Lukas Podolski due to injury.
Germany, who sit top of Group C with five wins and one draw from six games, face Austria on September 6 before travelling to the Faroe Islands four days later.