Loew's delight as Klose returns to Germany squad

Bayern Munich striker Miroslav Klose celebrates after scoring against Hansa Rostock during their Bundesliga match on 11 August. Germany's head coach Joachim Loew says he is delighted to welcome back several key players including hot-shot striker Miroslav Klose for the Euro 2008 qualifier against Wales in Cardiff.

Germany's head coach Joachim Loew said Friday he is delighted to welcome back several key players including hot-shot striker Miroslav Klose for the Euro 2008 qualifier against Wales in Cardiff.

Klose, the top scorer at last year's World Cup, was one of several key players missing from Germany's 2-1 win over England at Wembley on August 22 after he strained knee ligaments.

The Bayern Munich sharpshooter is back in the 22-man squad for the Group D qualifier on September 8 at the Millennium Stadium and the friendly against Romania in Cologne on September 12.

Loew is still without several first-choice players such as Chelsea's Michael Ballack and Bremen's Torsten Frings, but has welcomed back four Bayern Munich stars - Bastian Schweinsteiger, Lukas Podolski and Marcell Jansen, plus Klose.

"It is very pleasing to have so many of our first-choice players back for such an important match against Wales," said Loew.

And there is also a place for Germany's player of the year Mario Gomez after the 22-year-old striker shook off the leg injury which had restricted his Bundesliga appearances this season.

Bayern Munich Philipp Lahm is expected to captain the side with Bayer Levekusen's Bernd Schneider serving a one-match suspension for the Cardiff match.

Three goalkeepers have been included with first-choice keeper Jens Lehmann of Arsenal battling to shake off an Achilles tendon injury and Valencia's Timo Hildebrand could be promoted with Hanover's Robert Enke on the bench.

Germany lead Group D by five points, with Wales in fifth place and the Germans are odds-on favourites to reach the European Championships in Austria and Switzerland next summer.

But the Welsh showed some spark in their 1-0 win friendly win in Bulgaria with Wolverhampton Wanderers striker Freddy Eastwood scoring the winning goal on his debut.

Germany squad:

Goalkeepers: Timo Hildebrand (Valencia/ESP), Jens Lehmann (Arsenal/ENG), Robert Enke (Hanover)

Defenders: Gonzalo Castro (Bayer Leverkusen), Arne Friedrich (Hertha Berlin), Manuel Friedrich (Bayer Leverkusen), Marcell Jansen (Bayern Munich), Philipp Lahm (Bayern Munich), Per Mertesacker (Werder Bremen), Christoph Metzelder (Real Madrid/ESP), Christian Pander (Schalke 04), Serdar Tasci (VfB Stuttgart)

Midfielders: Robert Hilbert (VfB Stuttgart), Thomas Hitzlsperger (VfB Stuttgart), Simon Rolfes (Bayer Leverkusen), Piotr Trochowski (Hamburg), Bastian Schweinsteiger (Bayern Munich)

Forwards: Mario Gomez (VfB Stuttgart), Patrick Helmes (Cologne), Miroslav Klose (Bayern Munich), Kevin Kuranyi (Schalke 04), Lukas Podolski (Bayern Munich)