Hardened buttock muscle forces Gomez out of Germany squad

Wolfsburg striker Mario Gomez has pulled out of the Germany squad for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers with the Czech Republic and Northern Ireland due to injury.

The 31-year-old is suffering from the "hardening of a buttock muscle" that has prevented him from training, Wolfsburg have revealed.

"Mario Gomez must pass on the upcoming 2018 World Cup qualifiers against the Czech Republic (October 8th in Hamburg) and Northern Ireland (October 11th in Hannover)," a Wolfsburg statement reads.

"The Wolves number 33 was forced to pull out of the DFB selection due to hardening of a buttock muscle and will not participate in training for a couple of days."

Gomez also missed Germany's first Group C qualifier - a 3-0 win over Norway in September - after failing to recover from a hamstring injury sustained at Euro 2016.

The attacker joined Wolfsburg from Fiorentina ahead of the 2016-17 campaign, but has yet to open his account for the Volkswagen Arena side.