GERMANY WILL BE without Lars and Sven Bender as well as Marco Reus for their final World Cup qualifiers against Ireland and Sweden.
Coach Joachim Low named the twin brothers in his original 22-man squad but both have been forced to pull out due to injury.
Hamburg’s Heiko Westermann has been called up for the games in Cologne on Friday and Stockholm next Tuesday.
Lars Bender tore a muscle in his right thigh while playing for Bayer Leverkusen in their 1-1 draw with Bayern Munich on Saturday.
Sven Bender is expected to miss 10 days with a groin strain and back injury.
Reus, meanwhile, injured his left ankle in Dortmund’s surprising 2-0 Bundesliga defeat at Borussia Monchengladbach on Saturday and is expected to miss a fortnight of action.
Ireland caretaker manager Noel King takes his first training session in Malahide later today.
Chap is a serious talent.