Hoarse Hanke missing for Germany

Germany coach Joachim Löw has been forced to withdraw VfL Wolfsburg player Mike Hanke from his squad for the UEFA EURO 2008™ qualifiers against the Republic of Ireland and San Marino after the forward was struck down with tonsillitis. The coach was already without Christoph Metzelder, Per Mertesacker, Robert Huth and Jens Nowotny for his first competitive match since taking sole command.

France striker David Trezeguet is doubtful for Saturday's Group B UEFA EURO 2008™ qualifier against Georgia in Tbilisi because of a muscle injury. "He has not trained for about a week and I'm afraid he won't be ready in time," national coach Raymond Domenech said.

Norway coach Åge Hareide has also been dealing with injuries after striker Sigurd Rushfeldt, midfielder Bjørn Helge Riise and defender Kjetil Wæhler were all ruled out for his side's games against Hungary and Moldova. Rosenborg BK midfielder Jan Gunnar Solli and Lillestrøm SK defender Frode Kippe have been called up to bolster the ranks.

There has been a change of venue for Norway's game against Hungary in Budapest on Saturday due to the poor condition of the pitch at the original venue, the Ferenc Puskás stadium. The match, one of the three opening-day fixtures in Group C qualifying, will now be played at another venue in the Hungarian capital, the Ferenc Szusza stadium.

FC Zenit St. Peterburg striker Aleksandr Kerzhakov has been ruled out of Russia's game against Croatia after developing angina. The 23-year-old won his 35th international cap when he started coach Guus Hiddink's first match in charge against Estonia last month but the Dutchman will be forced to look elsewhere for the match against Croatia on 6 September.

Portugal coach Luiz Felipe Scolari has released SL Benfica winger Simão from his squad to face Denmark and Finland as he has a problem with his right thigh. Scolari will not call up a replacement.

Netherlands coach Marco van Basten has added AZ Alkmaar midfielder Demy de Zeeuw to his squad for the UEFA EURO 2008™ qualifiers against Luxembourg and Belarus on 2 and 6 September. The 23-year-old replaces AFC Ajax midfielder Wesley Sneijder who has withdrawn for several personal reasons.

UEFA EURO 2008™ co-hosts Austria and Switzerland are both competing in a four-team friendly tournament along with Venezuela and Costa Rica. As they prepared for their opening game, Austria coach Josef Hickersberger announced that 1. FC Kaiserslautern goalkeeper Jürgen Macho would be his new No1 due to what he saw as the below-par form of his usual first choice, SK Rapid Wien's Helge Payer.

Meanwhile, Switzerland have made a change to their squad following David Degen's injury, bringing in 22-year-old Gökhan Inler. The FC Zürich midfielder - who holds both Swiss and Turkish passports - had originally stated his intention of playing international football for Turkey, but Jakob Kuhn has persuaded him to change his mind.

Republic of Ireland coach Steve Staunton has called the uncapped Preston North End FC defender Sean St Ledger into his squad for Saturday's UEFA EURO 2008™ qualifier in Germany. Staunton has lost right-back Stephen Kelly and goalkeeper Paddy Kenny to injury, so has drafted in the 21-year-old St Ledger as well as keeper Nick Colgan from Barnsley FC.