Arsenal forward Kai Havertz has been removed from Germany’s squad for their Nations League matches against Bosnia-Herzegovina and the Netherlands.
The German soccer federation announced on Sunday that Havertz is out due to a left knee issue. He scored during Arsenal’s 3-1 victory over Southampton in the Premier League on Saturday and played the entire match.
Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann has called up Mainz forward Jonathan Burkardt to replace Havertz for the upcoming games, which are on Friday in Bosnia-Herzegovina and three days later in Munich against the Netherlands.
Nagelsmann was already missing Bayern Munich’s Jamal Musiala and West Ham’s Niclas Füllkrug due to hip and ankle injuries, respectively. This means he will need to adjust his attacking options, with Bayer Leverkusen’s Florian Wirtz and Stuttgart’s Deniz Undav expected to play.
Burkardt, who scored two goals for Mainz at St. Pauli in the Bundesliga on Saturday, is the third new player added to Nagelsmann’s squad, joining Borussia Mönchengladbach’s Tim Kleindienst and Stuttgart’s Jamie Leweling.
Germany will also have a new goalkeeper since Manuel Neuer retired after the European Championship, and his replacement, Barcelona’s Marc-André ter Stegen, is sidelined with a serious knee injury.
Nagelsmann has decided that Oliver Baumann, the 34-year-old goalkeeper from Hoffenheim, will start against Bosnia-Herzegovina. The other goalkeepers in the squad are Alexander Nübel from Stuttgart and Janis Blaswich from Salzburg.
