Chelsea midfielder André Schürrle has been ruled out of this evening's qualifying game in Gelsenkirchen after coming down with a bout of flu.
The 23 year-old, who was outstanding against Ireland 12 months ago when the now world champions beat what was then a Noel King managed side 3-0, and he had been expected to start on the left side of Joachim Löw's team this evening.
Defensive midfielder Christoph Kramer was ruled out yesterday with a stomach bug. Sebastian Rudy of Hoffenheim and local favourite, Julian Draxler of Schalke, look to be the most obvious replacements for the pair.
Marc Wilson, meanwhile, believes Ireland's two group wins so far as well as the goals scored back in Dublin on Saturday have provided plenty of confidence ahead of this evening's clash with world champions Germany but, he admits, he and his team mates are still in for a tough time at the Veltins Arena in Gelsenkirchen.
The Stoke City defender is set to partner John O’Shea again in the centre of Ireland’s and the pair are likely to see plenty of action against some of the best attacking talent on the planet.
Wilson insists that the players are up for the challenge, though, after making a bright start to their campaign to earn themselves a place at the European finals. “Two wins are very important,” he says, “to get as many points on the board as early as possible.
"Germany are the best team in the world in my opinion so obviously it's going to be a very difficult game. But the manner of the Gibraltar win was, he continues, "a great confidence booster for the lads.
"We were looking to get a positive result; we knew Poland had a good record ahead of us with the goal difference obviously so we wanted to score a few. I think the first couple of goals were key to giving us the confidence to go on.
“It was really nice to get seven goals, it was a first for me. And we could have scored a lot more to be honest. As for tonight’s game, he admits, as have others in the team, to having more than a sneaking regard for the opposition.
“I’m an admirer of a lot of the German players,” he says. “Kroos the lad in midfield, Muller; Lahm when he was playing. They have great players throughout their team, they are not world champions for nothing.”
