Ballack To Miss Belgium Friendly

The national team captain joins Torsten Frings and Jermaine Jones on the sidelines after suffering phoning Bundestrainer Joachim Löw on Sunday to inform him of his withdrawal.  

Ballack was forced off after just 37 minutes of Chelsea’s opening Premier League fixture at home to Portsmouth.  He picked up a knock to his ankle at Stamford Bridge and was replaced before half-time having earlier created the opening goal.

“The ankle is badly swollen so I’ve been told, but it looks like it has nothing to do with his previous injury” Löw said. 

Ballack missed a large part of last season with ankle problems, but it is hoped that he will be back in time for next week’s game against Wigan.

Germany lost both Torsten Frings and Jermaine Jones at the weekend.  Frings has a slight muscle problem and has been withdrawn as a precaution.  Schalke's Jermaine Jones however has damaged ankle ligaments and could be out for around four weeks.

Klinsmann Defends Decisions

Bayern were held to a 2-2 draw by Martin Jol’s HSV on Friday in the Bundesliga opener and boos were heard around the Allianz Arena following the second half decision to take off fans favourite Bastian Schweinsteiger with 25 minutes left to play.  

Tim Borowski was sent on for his Bayern debut, but it seems the trainer’s decision was not popular in all circles.   

"Bastian is not fully fit and, after an hour, he was having a few difficulties" Klinsmann explained.

"I wanted some fresh legs and knew Andreas Ottl would be able to get a few more touches of the ball in midfield.

"We have all our players at different stages of fitness and Bastian started training particularly late and has even been ill, so has Borowski, who was injured, and Luca Toni and Martin Demichelis have been out longer."  

Miroslav Klose was also taken off and replaced with 18 year old Thomas Müller for his first Bundesliga appearance, which this time saw boos apparently aimed at the German striker for an under-par performance.  

"Miro has played all of Euro 2008 and simply is not at the level that we want him to be at" Klinsmann said.

"This is only the first Bundesliga game and he is probably only halfway ready, but it is normal at the start that we are not working harmoniously."

Lehmann: World Cup- Why Not?

The 38 year old, who has just signed for VfB Stuttgart after losing his place in the Arsenal team, won his 61st cap during Euro 2008 as Germany lost to Spain in the final, but he is refusing to rule out playing on.  
The veteran had been widely expected to announce his international retirement after the European Championships and with Germany’s World Cup qualifiers getting underway on September 6, clarity is needed in the German camp.  
"I will discuss this issue in the near future with coach Joachim Löw, but I can live with the speculation" said Lehmann.
"Which player between the age of 18 and 40 can predict whether they will still be playing as well in two years anyway?
"I would even be prepared to sit on the bench at a World Cup.  I would never say never.  We will have to see what happens after this year."
Lehmann had been under pressure before Euro 2008 having not played a great deal of football for Arsenal after Manuel Almunia became the first choice at the Emirates.
Germany also has two highly promising youngsters coming through in Manuel Neuer (Schalke) and Rene Adler (Bayer Leverkusen).  Timo Hildebrand and Robert Enke are also knocking on the door to be considered the German number one, although Hildebrand was surprisingly dropped from the Euro 2008 squad.

Mathew Burt (goal.com)