Ballack out
May 17, 2010
The capitain of Germany's national soccer team, Michael Ballack will not be able to play in next month's World Cup finals in South Africa due to injury.
The Chelsea midfielder was flown to Munich late on Sunday for an examination by national team and Bayern Munich doctor Hans-Wilhelm Mueller-Wohlfahrt. The examination revealed that Ballack had torn ligaments in his right ankle, the German Soccer Association (DFB) announced on Monday.
He received the injury in Chelsea's 1-0 FA Cup victory against Portsmouth on Saturday after a late tackle from Kevin Prince-Boateng. Boateng is on the roster of Ghana's national team, which is to be one of Germany's opponents in the group stage.
Following the FA Cup final, Ballack criticized Boateng for failing to apologize for the foul. He also raised the possibility that the foul, for which Boateng got the yellow card, was deliberate.
National team head coach Joachim Loew told reporters at Germany's training camp at Sciacca on Sicily that he was shocked by the news and that the loss of Ballack was "bitter." Loew had been expecting Ballack to be a key player in the quest for Germany's fourth World Cup title.
acb/dpa/AFP/AP
Editor: Chuck Penfold