Germany national team manager Jürgen Klopp faces a depleted squad for Sunday’s UEFA Nations League fixture against Greece after Kai Havertz and Jamal Musiala withdrew from the squad due to injuries sustained during a 1–1 draw against the Netherlands, the German Football Association (DFB) announced Friday morning.
Havertz suffered a left thigh muscle strain during the first half in Amsterdam on Thursday evening, forcing an early substitution around the 30-minute mark as Younes Ebnoutalib entered to make his senior international debut. Musiala experienced pain in his right thigh during the pre-match warm-up and was replaced in the starting lineup by Nadiem Amiri before kickoff.
Medical assessments confirmed that Havertz sustained a muscle strain, while Musiala suffered a torn muscle fiber in his right thigh that will sideline the Bayern Munich star for several weeks. Both players have left the national team camp to continue their rehabilitation with their respective clubs, Arsenal and Bayern Munich.
Klopp Clarifies Musiala’s Injury Context
Addressing reporters after Thursday’s match, Klopp explicitly dismissed concerns linking Musiala’s latest setback to a neurological issue that caused two temporary absences during pre-season training. „Es ist keine gute Nachricht, aber irgendwie auch ’ne gute Nachricht, weil das eine normale Fußballverletzung ist“, Klopp said of the muscle tear in post-match comments broadcast by RTL.”
The fixture against the Netherlands marked Klopp’s managerial debut at the helm of the DFB team. Felix Nmecha opened the scoring for Germany in the 32nd minute before Cody Gakpo secured a late equalizer for the Dutch side, managed by newly appointed head coach Xavi.
Early Call-Ups for Wirtz and Burkardt
To offset the double loss, Klopp called up Liverpool attacker Florian Wirtz and Eintracht Frankfurt forward Jonathan Burkardt ahead of schedule. Both players were originally slated to join the squad during the second block of the international window.
The adjustments come as Germany prepares to face Greece on Sunday at 20:45 local time (UTC+2) in Augsburg, followed by upcoming Nations League commitments against Serbia in Munich.
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