Schweinsteiger to miss Germany qualifiers

Germany star Bastian Schweinsteiger will play no part in a friendly against Uruguay on May 29 or in two Euro 2012 qualifiers next month because of injury, the German football federation (DFB) said on Friday.

The 26-year-old Bayern Munich midfielder, one of the stars of Germany's strong 2010 World Cup performance, broke a toe in his right foot in a Bundesliga match on April 23 but continued playing despite the pain.

Now Schweinsteiger, who is vice captain and who has 87 caps for Germany, "needs to have a lengthy break," the DFB said in a statement.

Germany have back-to-back Euro 2012 qualifiers against Austria on June 3 in Vienna and against Azerbaijan on June 7 in Baku. Coach Joachim Loew will not be calling up any replacement for Schweinsteiger for the games, the DFB added.