Germany striker Miroslav Klose is set to miss next month's World Cup qualifiers home and away against Kazakhstan after tearing a knee ligament for his Italian side Lazio.
The 34-year-old, who is just one goal from Gerd Mueller's 38-year-old record of 68 goals for Germany, limped out of Lazio's 3-2 defeat at Genoa on Sunday in Serie A and misses Wednesday's international friendly against France in Paris.
He has been diagnosed with a torn ligament in his right knee by German team doctor Hans-Wilhelm Mueller-Wohlfahrt.
Klose, who has scored 67 goals in 126 appearances for Germany, will miss the World Cup qualifiers in Astana, Kazakhstan, on March 22 and Nuremberg on March 26 with Germany top of Group C.
It is also bad news for Lazio, where the German is the Serie A team's top scorer with 10 goals, and he is expected to miss the next seven or eight weeks.
"That is the last thing we needed," said Lazio club president Claudio Lotito.
Source: AFP
