Germany miss four stars for Dutch test

BERLIN (AFP) - Germany take on neighbours Holland in an international friendly on Wednesday with head coach Joachim Loew facing an injury headache after losing four of his stars over the weekend.

Loew has concerns after Bayern centre-back Jerome Boateng injured his groin in Munich's 2-0 win over Frankfurt on Saturday, while Dortmund left-back Marcel Schmelzer damaged his foot in their 3-1 win over Augsburg.

There was more bad news as vice-captain Bastian Schweinsteiger cried off with a virus on Sunday, while Bayern team-mate and fellow midfielder Toni Kroos has stomach problems.

On Sunday night, Loew called-up Borussia Dortmund midfielder Sven Bender, who had two caps, and Eintracht Frankfurt right-back Sebastian Jung, who joins the senior German squad for the first time, as cover.