Werder Bremen midfielders Torsten Frings and Tim Borowski are back in Germany's squad for the upcoming European Championship qualifiers against Ireland and the Czech Republic, but striker Miroslav Klose and captain Michael Ballack are still missing.
Klose has re-injured his right knee and Ballack is still recovering from an ankle operation. The Chelsea midfielder has not played since April. Klose leads the Bundesliga with eight goals for Bayern Munich.
Also missing are defenders Philipp Lahm of Bayern Munich and Christian Pander of Schalke and Stuttgart midfielder Thomas Hitzlsperger.
Frings and Borowski return after missing the start of the season with knee injuries. Also back is Werder defender Clemens Fritz.
Stuttgart striker Mario Gomez is also back in the 22-man roster announced by coach Joachim Loew on Friday. Gomez missed last month's qualifier against Wales and the friendly against Romania.
Arsenal goalkeeper Jens Lehmann is in the squad although he hasn't played for more than a month because of an elbow injury.
Germany leads Group D with 22 points from eight games. The Czechs have 20 points from nine games and Ireland 14, also from nine games.
Squad:
Goalkeepers: Timo Hildebrand (Valencia), Jens Lehmann (Arsenal)
Defenders: Gonzalo Castro (Bayer Leverkusen), Arne Friedrich (Hertha Berlin), Manuel Friedrich (Bayer Leverkusen), Clemens Fritz (Werder Bremen), Marcell Jansen (Bayern Munich), Per Mertesacker (Werder Bremen), Christoph Metzelder (Real Madrid)
Midfielders: Tim Borowski (Werder Bremen), Torsten Frings (Werder Bremen), Roberto Hilbert (Stuttgart), David Odonkor (Betis Sevilla), Simon Rolfes (Bayer Leverkusen), Bernd Schneider (Bayer Leverkusen), Bastian Schweinsteiger (Bayern Munich), Piotr Trochowski (Hamburger SV)
Forwards: Mario Gomez (Stuttgart), Patrick Helmes (Cologne), Stefan Kiessling (Bayer Leverkusen), Kevin Kuranyi (Schalke 04), Lukas Podolski (Bayern Munich)
