<
>

Joachim Low upbeat over Germany's Schweinsteiger, Hummels and Reus

Germany boss Joachim Low has expressed optimism that Bastian Schweinsteiger, Mats Hummels and Marco Reus will be fit for Euro 2016.

Captain Schweinsteiger, 31, was included in the 27-man provisional squad despite being sidelined since late March after partially tearing the medial collateral ligament in his knee.

Hummels, meanwhile, suffered a muscle tear in the DFB Pokcal final that prompted fears he could miss out on France, although he told Sportschau on Friday that he hoped to be available. Reus has a slight adductor problem.

Low, whose side play Slovakia in a friendly in Augsburg on Sunday, said: "The players nursing minor injuries are improving daily. I'm talking about Bastian Schweinsteiger, Mats Hummels and Marco Reus.

"Karim Bellarabi picked up a slight strain against the U20 side, but we expect him to return to running sessions tomorrow or the day after.

"We will sit down with our medical staff on Monday and discuss the situation. At the moment it looks quite promising with the injured players. Schweinsteiger is training at his maximum conditional level -- but matches and training are two different things.

"We will get an idea of the situation of each individual player and then make a final decision on Tuesday."

Low said Slovakia, who he described as "organised and quick at the back," would provide a stern test for his side as they step up their preparations for the tournament in France.

But he added: "The result isn't overly important. It's also worth noting that our training is geared towards the start of the tournament. Therefore it could be the case that our performance won't be as energetic as usual on Sunday."