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Wednesday Kickoff: Klose to miss Germany friendlies; Carrick out for up to six weeks; and more

MiroslavKloseGermany3 (Getty)

By DAN KARELL

Miroslav Klose only recently returned from a foot injury, but a fresh injury suffered last Sunday for Lazio has ruled the veteran striker out of Germany’s final two matches of 2013.

Klose suffered a shoulder injury in Lazio’s 1-1 draw with Parma and speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Germany manager Joachim Löw ruled the 35-year-old forward out for the next two to three weeks. Klose joins Mario Gomez, Ilkay Gundogan, and Bastian Schweinsteiger as German internationals who are all out with injury.

Arsenal defender Per Mertesacker has been ruled out of the match against Italy on Friday but he’ll meet up with the Germany team when they arrive in London to prepare for their friendly match with England on Tuesday. Mertesacker’s Arsenal teammate Mesut Özil has been deemed fit for both matches.

Here are some more stories to start your Wednesday:

CARRICK RULED OUT UNTIL MID-DECEMBER

Manchester United midfielder Michael Carrick could be out until the start of the new year due to a persistent Achilles injury.

Just a few days after playing the full 90 in Manchester United’s 1-0 victory against Arsenal, Carrick was forced to withdraw from the England National Team camp and has been ruled out by the Man United medical staff for the next four to six weeks. With Carrick out, it’s expected that summer signing Marouane Fellaini will step into the vacant place in the lineup.

Reports in England say that Carrick needed an injection on Tuesday to reduce the swelling in the area. Carrick is the third Man United player to pull out of an international friendly match in the last two days, joining fellow England teammate Danny Welbeck and Netherlands international Robin Van Persie.

ROSSI MISSES TRAINING, STILL A DOUBT FOR GERMANY MATCH

For the second consecutive day, forward Guiseppe Rossi missed Italian National Team training, leaving him in some real doubt as to whether or not he’ll play against Germany in Milan on Friday.

Italy head coach Cesare Prandelli said earlier this week that he’d like to start the Fiorentina man alongside Mario Balotelli as a forward pair, but with Rossi out for another day, Prandelli went with Balotelli and Osvaldo in training.

“Giuseppe has no fever, but he still has a sore throat and it affects him physically,” Italy team doctor Enrico Castellatti said to Italian publication Gazzetta Dello Sport. “It’s getting better, but he is on antibiotics and Friday is a short time away.

Prandelli said on Wednesday that he’d decide by the end of the day whether or not Rossi would take part in the match against Germany. If Rossi recovers, he could play against Nigeria on Monday in London.

QUICK KICKS

Borussia Dortmund and Inter Milan are battling it out for the transfer of Edin Dzeko, who could be looking to leave Manchester City in search of regular playing time. (REPORT)

English club Middlesbrough FC have appointed former Colorado Rapids defender and Real Madrid assistant coach Aitor Karanka to be the club’s new manager. (REPORT)

The Spanish National Team released it’s latest kit on Tuesday, one that will be worn during the World Cup in Brazil. (REPORT)

Both Steven Gerrard and Kyle Walker have been ruled out of England’s friendly match with Chile due to minor injuries. (REPORT)

The consequences of Chelsea’s firing of former manager Roberto Di Matteo mean that they’re still paying his salary through June 2014, which entitles Di Matteo to £130,000 per week. (REPORT)

Former Brazil boss Vanderlei Luxemburgo has been sacked by Fluminense after a poor run of results, despite just taking the job in July. (REPORT)

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What do you think of these reports? Do you see Klose representing Germany at the World Cup next summer? Do you believe Fellaini can fill in properly for Carrick? Do you see Rossi recovering in time?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

    • Also known in Brazil as Luxem-burro…
      nothing to see here, all Brazilian managers get sacked after a year in charge anyway. Unbelievable how the coaching carousel churns there. It’s like they have the same 20 managers playing musical chairs for all the top division coaching slots.

      Reply
  1. Maybe I missed it, but has Freddy Adu fallen so far that his release from Bahia is not news on SBI? IF he were willing to take $150-200K, I would think that teams like Seattle and San Jose would take a chance on him. He certainly was not a $500K player at Philly, but he is still worth a flyer for a mid-level MLS salary, a la Eddie Johnson. I think he’d be a great fit for the Sounders, playing in front of one of the most defensively adept midfielders in the league (Alonso) would hide his defensive liabilities. Ditto the Quakes–they still have a host of bruising forwards, but I think they’ve gone as far as they can go with Baca pulling the strings. Adu would be fun to watch for that club…

    Hope he comes back to MLS for a small salary and entertains us for a few years.

    Reply
    • He has fallen far enough that his soccer abilities don’t warrant much of a mention. If he wasn’t so famous, we wouldn’t still be talking about him. That said, he is famous so there was an SBI piece about him.

      Reply
    • There was an article on it last week here. He could be a good fit in the MLS if he doesnt want DP money but people have said that for a couple years. I think he’ll end up back in some small league in Europe again, second division of Turkey?

      Reply
  2. Dzeko’s too good to be sitting.

    Far as Di Matteo is concerned, that is the quiet, contractual reality of such things. If you violate some clause they try to fire you for cause. But if they just want you out, you still have a contract. This is why Bradley is still coaching Egypt…..more expensive to fire than to simply give one more game and run out the term. Sometimes they do a lump sum buyout, sometimes they just run out the rest of the deal.

    Could be worse, the NFL Texans will take 2013, 2014, and 2015 cap hits for the now released Ed Reed, even though he didn’t finish even the first season of a three year deal. They gave a hip surgery safety age 35 a three year deal.

    Reply
    • Just nitpicking, but Reed will only have a cap hit for Houston in 13 and 14, and 14 will be only 2.7 million, the remainder of the guaranteed money (his pro-rated signing bonus of $4m) the rest was either already paid (one year of bonus, roster bonus) or non-guaranteed salary. Six million to take a flyer on a hall of gamer coming off a Super Bowl? Not a terrible gamble.

      Reply

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