Hannover's preparations for the Lower Saxony derby have been disrupted by striker Roman Wallner's drink-driving charge.

The club have fined the 22-year-old Austria international after he was found to be driving under the influence, an incident that did not go unnoticed in the German media.

"He knows he has committed a mistake," manager Ilja Kanzig said.

"It's not acceptable that a player dominates the press for four days without sporting reasons behind it."

But, of even more concern to the hosts ahead of Sunday's game with league leaders Wolfsburg, is how to cope with the loss of star midfielder Tranquillo Barnetta.

His season was ended by a cruciate knee injury picked up in Switzerland's World Cup qualifier in Israel on Saturday.

Barnetta was on the scoresheet along with Leandro and Daniel Stendel as Hannover recorded a 3-1 win at Hansa Rostock a fortnight ago, a result that catapulted the club from the foot of the table to 10th in the standings.

As well as the young Swiss, Mohammadou Idrissou remains bothered by groin problems and won't be available.

Bundesliga pacesetters Wolfsburg, meanwhile, look set to strengthen their already-impressive midfield with the signing of Peter van der Heyden.

The Belgium international has failed to agree a new contract with Club Bruges, although Wolfsburg coach Erik Gerets would not comment on the speculation linking the club with Van der Heyden.

"I am not dealing with those issues in public," he told Kicker magazine.

A 2-1 victory over Borussia Monchengladbach a fortnight ago extended Wolfsburg's winning streak to five matches, but they will have to cope with the loss of Marian Hristov (knee) and Roy Prager (cheekbone) for the short trip across Saxony.

The Wolves have scored in all but one of their last 87 matches - the last derby against Hannover back in May.