Leroy Sane swaps his Afro for new haircut in Germany training ahead of World Cup warm-ups

As Germany look to play this summer's World Cup much the same as they did in Brazil four years ago, Leroy Sane has mixed things up a bit with a new haircut.

The 22-year-old, who watched on from home as Joachim Low's men secured World Cup glory in Rio, has rid himself of his trademark Afro and has opted for a much more streamlined look.

As if Sane needed anymore streamlining, the Manchester City winger now has only thin plats of hair to provide the resistance to his blistering pace, and he will be putting his new look to the test in Germany's first warm-up for the tournament in Russia next week.

Sane will be looking to help Low's world champions to victories over Austria and Saudi Arabia before they make the journey to their training base in Moscow.

The Germans boast one of the most feared squads that will be on show in Russia and will enter the tournament as favourites alongside the likes of France, Brazil and Spain.

Low, who recently signed a new four-year deal with the German national team, led the session in Eppan, a commune in South Tyrol, northern Italy and still has some decisions to make.

On the same day he signed his new deal, he also announced his 27-man provisional squad, which leaves him with a few players to cut before they start their World Cup campaign against Mexico on June 17.

There was a vast array of talent on display, with a handful coming from the Premier League looking to solidify their place in the final 23-man squad.

Mesut Ozil, who is looking to make his mark on a major tournament, Ilkay Gundogan, fresh from winning the Premier League with Manchester City, and Antonio Rudiger were flying the flag for English football's top flight.

Manuel Neuer was a welcome sight during the session, with the Bayern Munich goalkeeper set to take his place as their No 1 between the sticks after a spending much of last season on the sidelines.

Neuer suffered a metatarsal break back in September last year and didn't feature again for the remainder of the season.

The World Cup and Champions League winner returned to full Bayern training earlier this month though to complete a full two weeks of practise before joining his countrymen in Eppan earlier this week.

Neuer will be desperate to be included in Low's final squad, using strong performances in the coming weeks to prove his fitness to the national manager.

Germany will face Austria on June 2 before hosting Saudi Arabia on June 8.