Bayern's Germany striker Klose was injured against Werder Bremen

England v Germany
Wembley Stadium
Wednesday, 22 August
Kick-off: 2000 BST
Live coverage on BBC One, BBC Radio 5live & the BBC Sport website.

Germany coach Joachim Loew has blamed bad tackling in the Bundesliga for the number of withdrawals from his squad ahead of Wednesday's game with England.

Miroslav Klose, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Sami Khedira all pulled out after Saturday's German league matches.

Loew is already missing numerous other players for Wednesday's friendly.

"There are 60 players injured in the Bundesliga, there has to be a reason," said Loew. "The tackling of some players leaves a lot to be desired."

Some players think they have won a tackle simply by hacking down their opponent Joachim Loew

Munich striker Klose, 29, top scorer at the 2006 World Cup, was injured playing for Bayern Munich against former club Werder Bremen on Saturday.

Klose suffered a knee ligament injury when he was tackled by former team-mate Naldo.

"I am not saying anything bad about Naldo, but that was typical of many Bundesliga fouls in that the player simply goes for the legs without any chance of winning the ball," added Loew.

"Some players think they have won a tackle simply by hacking down their opponent, pulling their shirt or fouling to break up the play.

"A tackle should be an attempt to win the ball and start an attack or score, but today I see players who just want to stop their opponent."

Bayern's Schweinsteiger 23, has a back injury and fellow midfielder Khedira, 20, of Stuttgart, has a damaged foot.

Loew had already lost captain Michael Ballack, forwards Mario Gomez, Lukas Podolski and Jan Schlaudraff, midfielders Torsten Frings and Tim Borowski and full-backs Marcell Jansen and Clemens Fritz for the match at Wembley.

Ballack, Podolski, Klose, Schweinsteiger, Frings and Jansen are all regulars in the Germany starting line-up.

England coach Steve McClaren is also without several key players for the match.

Steven Gerrard, Owen Hargreaves and Darren Bent all withdrew on Monday while Portsmouth defender Sol Campbell misses out with a groin injury.

Striker Wayne Rooney is also on the injury list after breaking a bone in his foot.