Football
Stephen Uersfeld 8y

Bayern's Joshua Kimmich pulls out of Germany under-21 squad

Bayern Munich defender Joshua Kimmich has pulled out of the Germany under-21 squad with muscle problems, while Arjen Robben and Juan Bernat both missed the club's training session on Monday.

Kimmich, 21, has been in excellent form as of late as he took the place of injured Germany international Jerome Boateng in Bayern's central defence.

Following a strong performance at Borussia Dortmund, the former RB Leipzig player had been linked with a squad place for the national team at the 2016 European Championship in France.

For now, however, the Bayern defender, just like Borussia Dortmund's Julian Weigl, was called up to the under-21 squad for their upcoming run of European qualifiers against the Faroe Islands and Russia.

"They [Kimmich, Weigl, Leroy Sane and Hertha Berlin's Mitchell Weiser] are not out of the running," Germany coach Joachim Low told the official DFB website. "We've scouted players in the past few weeks. And there are a few who have already shown their qualities on the European level."

But on Monday, Kimmich was forced to pull out of the under-21 squad as he complained of "muscular problems," the DFB announced on Monday.

Back at Bayern Munich's training facilities on Sabener Strasse, only a handful of players took part in the first training session of the international break, with Arjen Robben still absent through injury and Juan Bernat completing a solo session in the club's performance centre, Bayern said on their official website.

One of the players completing the session under the eyes of coach Pep Guardiola was midfielder Sebastian Rode, who won a rare start of Bayern in their 1-0 win at Cologne on Saturday.

The 25-year-old former Eintracht Frankfurt player has only appeared in 13 matches in all competitions this season, and has only started three times.

"Pep Guardiola isn't talking a lot to me, so I don't really know where I stand or why I am not playing on a more regular basis," Rode told GoalĀ about his relationship with the outgoing FC Bayern boss.

"Matthias Sammer is talking more often to me, he comes up to me and he knows my situation of course.

"A lot of people within the club are satisfied with me, but I am not satisfied with my playing time."

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