Löw is patient

Christoph Kramer will miss Germany's European Championship qualifier at home to the Republic of Ireland on Tuesday after picking up a stomach bug and a fever.

Kramer is one of several players out unavailable for Germany's third match of the qualification phase to be held in Gelsenkirchen. Head coach Joachim Löw is unable to call upon the services of Bastian Schweinsteiger, Marco Reus, Benedikt Höwedes, Sami Khedira, Ilkay Gundogan, Mesut Özil and Mario Gomez, among others. Andre Schürrle is also missing from the squad.

A handful of professionals recently have warned against the demands being placed on players in such a congested fixture schedule. This week, there was controversy around Roy Hodgson's decision to drop Raheem Sterling from the England side because the Liverpool midfielder said he was "a bit tired".

Kramer's midfield partner Toni Kroos even suggested in the wake of the Poland loss to look towards American sports for a long-term solution.

The Germany boss erred on the side of caution and feels the number of matches are beginning to catch-up after a small window for recovery between their World Cup win and the new domestic season.

"The burden on them is too much," Löw said. "I reckon it's quite drastic that players only have a short time to recover and prepare after a big tournament.

"You notice it during a season. We shouldn't turn the screw too much."

Kramer was sent home from the camp after feeling unwell following Germany's 2-0 defeat in Warsaw against Poland. It was Germany's first away qualifying defeat since 1998 and Löw admitted he can sense a "determination" among his squad to put things right against Ireland on Tuesday.

Without the Borussia Mönchengladbach midfielder, Sebastian Rudy or Matthias Ginter could deputize. Löw has other attacking options, if required, like Schalke's Julian Draxler.

Some experts, though, were scathing of Germany's more inexperienced players after the defeat in Poland. Erik Durm of Borussia Dortmund came in for some criticism from Jens Lehmann for being "naive" at certain points in the match.

Löw, however, has stood by his younger internationals and expects his new faces to take time to settle amid high expectations after the World Cup win.

"I'm giving them a lot of time because it was obvious that Philipp Lahm, who was world class, could not be replaced in a day," Löw said.

"I think Erik Durm has good potential in many areas, in terms of positioning and speed.

"Sure, there can be mistakes at the back. Toni Rüdiger certainly also needs more time."

rd/jr (AFP, AP, dpa)