Teenage midfielder Julian Draxler has withdrawn from Germany's friendly against Paraguay on Wednesday after suffering an Achilles tendon injury in Schalke's 3-3 German league draw with Hamburg.
The 19-year-old Draxler limped off after only 23 minutes of the Royal Blues' draw on Sunday having damaged the tendon in his left ankle on the opening weekend of the new Bundesliga season.
Having made six international appearances, Draxler has been ruled out of Germany's friendly in Kaiserslautern as Germany head coach Joachim Loew prepares for next month's World Cup qualifiers against Austria and the Faroe Islands.
"The injury could quickly get inflamed and turn into a long drawn-out affair, so it makes no sense (for him to play on Wednesday)," said Schalke team manager Horst Heldt.
Heldt said it would be "tight" for Draxler to be fit for Schalke's next Bundesliga match against VfL Wolfsburg on Saturday.
Loew has no plans to call up a replacement for Draxler to his 20-man squad, the German Football Federation (DFB) confirmed Sunday evening.
Source: AFP
