The 38-year-old Lehmann is expected to continue playing club football after the tournament but Bierhoff indicated that he and coach Joachim Low intend to find a new number one for the international team after the summer.

It is to that end that Bayer Leverkusen's 23-year-old goalkeeper Rene Adler has been called into the squad ahead of Valencia's Timo Hildebrand.

"I expect ties will be severed after the European Championships and we will plan without Jens," Bierhoff told Sport Bild magazine.

"But I still think Jens will play at club level for at least another year."

Lehmann, whose contract with Arsenal has expired, has been linked with both Stuttgart and Bayern Munich after moving into a new home in Bavaria at the weekend.

Only recently he claimed to be considering playing on until the 2010 World Cup, although retirement immediately after Euro 2008 cannot be ruled out either.