Germany coach Joachim Low knew he would have to inject fresh legs into his squad to replace veterans after the World Cup, but a raft of injuries means he has had to delve deep into his playing stocks for their Euro 2016 qualifier against Poland. With former captain Philipp Lahm, Per Mertesacker and Miroslav Klose ending their international careers after the tournament in Brazil in July, Low was already forced to replace several first choice players. Against Poland on Saturday, however, the coach will also be without more than half a dozen key players including new captain Bastian Schweinsteiger, Marco Reus, Benedikt Howedes, Mesut Ozil, Sami Khedira, Marcel Schmelzer and Mario Gomez.
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Germany face Poland on Saturday and Republic of Ireland next week
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Bastian Schweinsteiger, Marco Reus, Benedikt Howedes, Mesut Ozil, Sami Khedira, Marcel Schmelzer and Mario Gomez all out injured for Germany
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Philipp Lahm, Per Mertesacker and Miroslav Klose all retired from international football after Germany won the World Cup in the summer
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Manager Joachim Low has had to rebuild his squad with new players
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Borussia Monchengladbach forward Max Kruse and Bayer Leverkusen winger Karim Bellarabi  are both expected to feature in the two matches
New captain @placeholder is one of several players unavailable for the two qualifiers
@placeholder will need all the firepower he can get from Kruse and Bellarabi, who have each netted three times in the league.