Borussia Dortmund central defender Mats Hummels will miss both of Germany’s upcoming matches with a hip injury, the German federation (DFB) announced today.
Hummels has apparently been suffering for a few weeks from the injury, and despite his hopes, was unable to prove ready to play for either Wednesday’s friendly against the United States or Saturday’s matchup with Gibraltar in Euro qualification.
Hummels struggled with injuries all year - mostly in the first half of the season - missing time with knee, leg, and now hip problems. The 26-year-old made 24 Bundesliga appearances for Dortmund, plus eight more in cup and European competitions. He has a history of missing friendlies, appearing in nine of Germany’s last twelve competitive matches back through the beginning of the World Cup, but has not appeared in each of their last three friendlies (two via injury and one as an unused substitute).
In his place, Bayern Munich defender Jerome Boateng was called in by manager Joachim Löw. Boateng will only be arriving with the team on Wednesday, so he will not be available for the U.S. friendly, just the Gibraltar match the DFB announced.
Löw left off a number of German stars who he believes needed rest after their club seasons, including goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, midfielder Toni Kroos, and forward Marco Reus.
“They have deserved this break. I have made this decision in view of the season we have ahead of us, which should culminate in the European Championship in France next summer,” Löw said. “Manu[el Neuer] has also been a role model and everybody knows he is one of the players who always wants to play, but our doctor Hans-Wilhelm Muller-Wohlfahrt has told me that Manu is currently feeling a bit of pain when training and playing. The long season has left its mark. He’s had a few injuries which he is going to have to treat in the coming weeks.”
