Germany will have an untested goalkeeper when it plays Russia tomorrow, which is likely to be its toughest rival in World Cup qualifying.
Regular starter Robert Enke of Hannover 96 broke his left hand in practice, leaving coach Joachim Loew with Bayern Leverkusen's Rene Adler and Werder Bremen's Tim Wiese as the goalkeeping options. Adler and Wiese have never played for the national team.
The good news for Germany was that Russia striker Roman Pavlyuchenko has been ruled out with an ankle injury.
Enke will also miss the game against Wales in Moenchengladbach and could be out for the rest of the year.
The German soccer federation said Enke was hurt in training and a scan revealed the fracture. Enke became Germany's No. 1 goalkeeper after the European Championship, following Jens Lehmann's retirement from the national team.
The 23-year-old Adler has been considered Enke's backup, but he was absent from the three games after the European Championship because of a shoulder injury and Wiese, 26, had been Enke's reserve.
Loew made no immediate decision on who will be in goal against Russia.
Having a novice goalkeeper in an already reshuffled defense could be a problem for Germany, which beat Liechtenstein 6-0 in its opener but struggled to a 3-3 draw in Finland. Russia beat Wales 2-1 in its only Group 4 game so far. Azerbaijan is also in the group.
"It's unfortunate, not only for him, but for the entire team," defender Arne Friedrich said of Enke.
Midfielder Torsten Frings said Germany will have to be very cautious against Russia. "You must have respect for Russia," Frings said. "Nobody considered Russia among the favorites at the European Championship but they ousted a very good team (Netherlands) and reached the semifinals."
Loew has compared Russia to Spain, which beat Germany 1-0 in the European Championship final.
"Russia is at the same level as Spain and other top teams," Loew said. "I have seldom seen a team that has a such a quick transition game, they are very strong in their forward movement.
"They take advantage of every mistake you make and we have to be very careful. If you lose possession, especially in your half, if you are careless in passing, they will punish you."
(Agencies via Shanghai Daily October 10, 2008)