Germany captain Michael Ballack has been ruled out of the World Cup after suffering an ankle injury in Saturday's FA cup final victory over Portsmouth.
The Chelsea midfielder was caught by a rash challenge from Kevin Prince Boateng just before half time at Wembley and the German Football Association (DFB) today confirmed that the scans reveal ligament damage.
The DFB's statement said: "A tear of the medial collateral ligament of the right ankle was found. The right ankle is immobilised in a plaster. He will have to wear a special shoe for two weeks."
The German team doctor, Hans-Wilhelm Muller-Wohlfahrt, gave the talisman a recovery period of eight weeks, meaning he will not return to training until July 12th, the day after the World Cup Final in Johannesburg.
The return date should mean he can travel with Chelsea on their pre-season tour in the United States, which kicks off on July 18th.
The news must come as another blow to tournament organisers FIFA. The governing body last year took the decision to seed higher ranked teams in playoffs to enable the best known footballers to qualify.
But those plans hit some unexpected hiccups in recent weeks as national coach's around the world released their squads for the tournament with some noticeable absentee's.
France omitted Karim Benzema and Samir Nasri. Argentina coach Diego Maradonna overlooked Esteban Cambiasso and Javier Zanetti, who could lift the Champion's League later this week.
While Brazilian stars Ronaldinho and Alexander Pato will also be able to spend the summer at home. Couple these with injury to the marquee player of global football, David Beckham, and Ballack's absence will be another headache for those trying to profit from the mass appeal of the tournament.
But the fact that Germany will be without their 33 year old leader will be a source of optimism for group D rivals Serbia, Ghana and Australia, who may now all fancy their chances against Joachim Lowe's inexperienced side
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