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Thursday, 08 June 2006 |
Germany captain Michael Ballack is out of World Cup opening match against Costa Rica
Germany captain Michael Ballack is not going to be fit enough for their World Cup opener against Costa Rica on Friday.
Michael Ballack, who is a new Chelsea midfielder, injured his calf in a friendly game against Colombia on 2 June and was forced to withdraw from training on Wednesday.
Germany coach Jurgen Klinsmann said: "He's our leader and our skipper and we hoped to have him available.
"But it's a pity not a problem. We're in great shape without him."
Michael Ballack had been cleared to join in the Wednesday training session, his first since sustaining up the injury, however, after he pulled out of the session, Jurgen Klinsmann stuck by his policy of not choosing any player who could not train 48 hours before a match.
Either Werder Bremen midfielder Tim Borowski or Borussia Dortmund's Sebastian Kehl will replace Michael Ballack, who is targeting making Germany's next group match against Poland on Wednesday 14 June.
And Jurgen Klinsmann added: "It's more important for us to get him back in shape so that he can rejoin practice and get in shape for the next matches."
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Last Updated ( Monday, 12 June 2006 )
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