Ballack's World Cup scare

[Tadakatsu Honda]

May 16, 2010
Ballack's World Cup scare

<!-- by line --> <!-- end by line --> LONDON - GERMANY captain Michael Ballack has admitted the ankle injury he suffered in Saturday's FA Cup final could threaten his World Cup place. The 33-year-old limped from the Wembley Stadium pitch with an injury to his right ankle after 44 minutes of his Chelsea side's 1-0 win over Portsmouth, which gave the London club the league and cup double. 'Until I know what the MRI scan will reveal, I am naturally concerned,' said Ballack. Germany open their World Cup campaign against Australia in their first group stage game on June 13 and Ballack was due to have a scan on the ankle on Sunday. Ballack left Wembley wearing a special protective cast on his ankle, but an x-ray at the stadium had already revealed he has not broken any bones.

A Chelsea spokesman said the medical staff do not think the injury will keep Ballack out of the World Cup as he prepares to fly to Sicily to link up with the rest of the Germany squad for their training camp. Ballack picked up the injury after he was sent tumbling to the turf by a heavy challenge from Portsmouth's former Hertha Berlin midfielder Kevin-Prince Boateng. Germany coach Joachim Loew will be concerned about the injury to his captain who has won 98 caps and scored 42 goals. 'We know nothing is broken and we have to wait for the scan,' said Loew from Germany's training camp in Sicily. 'For us, the positive news is there is no break and of course we need him, he is a very important player and he has an incredible amount of experience.' Germany have warm-up games against Hungary in Budapest on May 29 and Bosnia-Herzegovina on June 3 in Frankfurt before facing Australia, Serbia and Ghana in Group D in South Africa. --AFP

 

[Tadakatsu Honda]

Ballack left to sweat on fate


May 16, 2010
Ballack left to sweat on fate

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Ballack cries out in pain as he is tackled by Kevin-Prince Boateng during the FA Cup Final against Portsmouth. -- PHOTO: AFP

FRANKFURT - GERMANY captain Michael Ballack will not find out his World Cup fate until Monday because heavy swelling on his injured right ankle has delayed an MRI scan by 24 hours. The 33-year-old Chelsea midfielder limped out of Saturday's FA Cup final win over Portsmouth after a heavy tackle, but an X-ray at Wembley Stadium revealed no broken bones. With Germany set to face Australia in their opening World Cup game on June 13, Ballack was due to undergo a scan on Sunday, but heavy swelling has delayed the examination, the German Football Federation (DFB) said.

Once he knows the extent of his injury Ballack will phone Germany coach Joachim Loew at the pre-World Cup training camp in Sicily on Monday and a decision will be taken on Ballack's treatment. The midfielder will either fly to Sicily or straight to Munich to be treated by the national team's doctor Hans-Wilhelm Mueller-Wohlfahrt. 'Until I know the results of the MRI scan, I am naturally concerned,' said Ballack on Saturday after the FA Cup final. With 98 caps and 42 goals to his name, Ballack will lead Germany's bid to win the World Cup for a fourth time and is crucial to Loew's plans.

'We had information from his adviser that he was X-rayed and nothing is broken,' said Loew. 'But Michael wants to have the MRI scan to make sure the ligaments are all okay. He certainly has some pain and the ankle has very limited movement. Even if there is no ligament damage, it will need several days of rest. We need some clarity on the injury first and hope there is no serious ligament damage. Of course, we are all hoping the injury is not too serious.' -- AFP

 

[Ramseth]

Re: Ballack left to sweat on fate

Michael Ballack confirmed out for 2 months, i.e. will miss World Cup.

 

[jw5]

Re: Ballack left to sweat on fate

There's a soccernet report that Kevin Prince Boateng's father said that Ballack had been disrespectful to his son when they were both playing in Germany. But the father claims that the tackle was not an act of revenge.
Ghana whom Kevin plays for is in the same world cup group as Germany.
Jerome Boateng, Kevin's brother, is a member of the Germany world cup squad. How awkward it will be for him.

 

[Sun Wukong]

Football: Injured Ballack ruled out of World Cup
Posted: 17 May 2010 1819 hrs
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Chelsea's midfielder Michael Ballack (R) cries out in pain as he is tackled by Portsmouth's Kevin-Prince Boateng during their FA Cup Final football match at Wembley, in north London. </td> </tr> <tr> <td></td> <td class="update"></td> </tr> <tr> <td></td> <td>
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BERLIN - Germany captain Michael Ballack has been forced out of the World Cup finals due to an ankle injury which has sidelined him for two months, the German football federation (DFB) said Monday. Chelsea forward Ballack was told he could play no part in the June 11-July 11 finals after a scan revealed the severity of an ankle injury suffered in the FA Cup final win over Portsmouth on Saturday.

"It's hard to accept, of course I'm disappointed," said Ballack, who had travelled to Sicily for one of Germany's pre-World Cup training camps. Germany coach Joachim Loew said: "We're going to work to find a good solution." Ballack limped out of the FA Cup final win after a heavy tackle and was left sweating over his World Cup chances despite X-ray scans revealing no broken bones.

Prevented from undergoing a MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scan Sunday due to heavy swelling, a scan Monday by DFB doctor Hans-Wilhelm Muller-Wohlfahrt finally brought the news Ballack did not want to hear: a partially torn ligament and an eight-week layoff. The DFB said in a statement: "His right ankle will have to be immobilised and put in a plaster cast. He will then have to wear a special shoe for a further two weeks."

At 33 years old, the South Africa finals would likely have been Ballack's final World Cup campaign. He has 98 caps and 42 goals to his name. Ballack is one of Germany's most influential players and news of his impending absence will not go unnoticed by Germany's World Cup group opponents Australia, whom they face in their opening game on June 13.

Germany will also face Serbia and Ghana in Group D. The latest injury is a blow for the Loew after goalkeeper Rene Adler was also ruled out last month. And he must wait until May 24 before Philipp Lahm, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Mario Gomez can join the team after playing the Champions League final with their club Bayern Munich. Loew could turn to Schweinsteiger, who has had a very good season with Bayern, who could act as playermaker beside Mesut Ozil.

He could also recall Thomas Hitzlsperger (Lazio), or even Torsten Frings (Werder Bremen), two veterans who had fallen out of favour. The injury is a bitter blow for Ballack who is still looking for a first international success at his final World Cup after 2002 (2nd) and 2006 (3rd). He started his career at Chemnitz before moving to Kaiserslautern (1997-99), Bayer Leverkusen (1999-2002), Bayern Munich (2002-06) and Chelsea.

- AFP/ir

 

[Sun Wukong]

Ballack lawyer targets Boateng


May 18, 2010
Ballack lawyer targets Boateng

BERLIN (Germany) - A LAWYER for Chelsea star Michael Ballack said he intends to lodge a complaint against Portsmouth's Kevin-Prince Boateng for the 'intentional' tackle which ended the Germany captain's World Cup hopes. Ballack was ruled out of the 2010 World Cup finals Monday after a scan revealed torn ligaments in his ankle following a heavy tackle by Germany-born Ghanaian Boateng during Sunday's FA Cup final win.

The 33-year-old German will be sidelined for eight weeks, thus ending his hopes of playing what was likely to have been his last World Cup campaign in South Africa. Ironically, Ghana are in Germany's Group D at the World Cup. For the German's lawyer, Michael Becker, Boateng set out to injure Ballack intentionally. 'To me, what Boateng did was not simply an insidious tackle but was designed to intentionally injure,' Mr Becker said.

'We are now looking into all of our legal options, which could lead to both civil and penal consequences.' Ballack's injury and subsequent absence from the June 11-July 11 finals caused uproar in Germany, although Boateng said on Monday he did not set out to injure Ballack. 'I was late and I tackled him head on, it was really stupid. I apologised to him twice on the pitch, and now this makes it three times,' he said.

'I am really sorry, but there was no ill-intention meant.' Ballack meanwhile indicated he wanted to forget the whole incident. Speaking from his team's training camp in Sicily, to which he travelled despite his injury, Ballack said: 'Obviously I'm still very angry and disappointed, but there's no point in going out to make things worse.' -- AFP