Germany’s Thomas Mueller and Mats Hummels will not travel with the world champions to Austria for their World Cup warm-up match on Saturday and get an extra day of rest, coach Joachim Loew said on Friday. Mueller and Hummels will remain at their northern Italy training camp along with Bayern Munich team mate Jerome Boateng, working back towards full fitness following a muscle injury late in the season.
“Mueller had many games this season, Hummels had many games this season. We know what they can do so it is good for them to clear their head a bit this weekend,” Loew told a news conference. Surprise addition Nils Petersen will also play against Austria with Loew praising the Freiburg forward, who is battling for a spot in the squad along with fellow forwards Mario Gomez and Timo Werner. “The impression I have of him has only been getting better,” Loew said of the versatile forward. “He is working really hard.”