Germany´s Ballack out of Liechtenstein WC game

AFP - 2 September 2008 21:15

Germany captain Michael Ballack, pictured in August 2008, has pulled out of their first World Cup qualifier against Liechtenstein on Saturday, the German football federation said.

FRANKFURT, Germany (AFP) - Germany captain Michael Ballack has pulled out of their first World Cup qualifier against Liechtenstein on Saturday, the German football federation said.

Ballack's bruised and inflamed left foot however may not exclude him from the September 10 game in Helsinki, the federation added.

The absence of Ballack, who has played 87 times for his country and scored 38 goals, is not a surprise however as German coach Joachim Loew said at the weekend the star midfielder was a serious doubt for the matches.

Loew added that Ballack's injury was not as serious as his left ankle problem which put him out of the sport for eight months in 2007.

The 32-year-old got injured on August 17 playing for his club Chelsea in their 4-0 thrashing of Portsmouth on the first day of the season.

He then pulled out of Germany's friendly 2-0 victory over Belgium three days later but played the entire match against Wigan in the Blues' second Premiership match.