I won´t risk Hummels – Low

Germany coach Joachim Low will not risk Mats Hummels in the Euro 2016 clash with Poland on Thursday if the defender’s injury problems persist.

The Borussia Dortmund centre-back missed Germany’s Group C opener against Ukraine due to a calf problem, but has since returned to training.

Low indicated that centre-backs Jerome Boateng and Shkodran Mustafi would be selected again unless Hummels made a full recovery.

“He [Hummels] has trained twice with the team but not for too long,” said Low. “It is important to see his final training session and then we’ll talk to him to decide if he can play or not.

“I will not run any risk if he has any problems or doesn’t feel 100 per cent. I can’t predict that right now – it will be after the final training [session].

“He told me he felt quite well. He coped with the effort and performance shown in training but I have to talk to the physicians before I can tell you more.”

Experienced midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger scored Germany’s second goal in the 2-0 victory against Ukraine, but Low indicated that the Manchester United man is not fit enough to play an entire match for now.

Low said of Schweinsteiger: “You can see every day that he is proceeding, his physical condition is excellent, and he has worked very hard. He was a little tired lately but now he’s full of energy.

“He doesn’t have the condition for 90 minutes but he is well integrated into the squad in training.

“His role is ever more important; he’s an emotional leader who is being listened to by other players.

“He has won everything you can win. He is a world champion, he’s won the Champions League. He has a big role and is very important for our squad.”

Low said he was considering whether to utilise striker Mario Gomez and attacking midfielder Mario Gotze to unpick the Polish defence.

“Both could be very good against Poland because I think we will be dominant on the pitch.” he added.

“We consider the opposition. Where is the opponent vulnerable? Sometimes they have problems when we come with our wingers. Sometimes their position might not be the best.

“Gomes loves receiving balls from the wings and knows how to finish them.

“If the opposition has problems in the centre then Gotze is important with his technical quality. When they defend intensively Gotze could be the better player.

“It depends on my feeling.”