Ballack missing for Blues' Euro start
Ballack has struggled to hold down a place in Chelsea's midfield
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Monday, 03, Sep 2007 10:31
German international Michael Ballack has been left out of Chelsea's squad for the group stage of the Uefa Champions League.
The 31-year-old playmaker underwent ankle surgery over the summer and Stamford Bridge backroom staff are reluctant to offer any guarantee to manager Jose Mourinho that he would be able to call on Ballack's services before the majority of the games were completed.
"Naturally, we hope Michael's recovery is as quick as possible, that he returns to full training ahead of schedule and that he will then be available for the latter stages of the competition, should we qualify," read a statement from Chelsea.
Although Chelsea's final match in Group B, a home tie against Spanish side Valencia on December 11th, comes more than a month after his projected domestic return, Mourinho has decided he can do without Ballack in attempting to secure passage to the knockout stages.
Ballack failed to replicate the form he displayed at Bayern Munich after making the switch to the Premier League in the summer of 2006 and his relationship with Mourinho appeared to deteriorate after he headed back to Germany for treatment on his injured ankle.
This summer he was forced to deny reports linking him with an early exit from west London and a move to Real Madrid.
German outfit Schalke and Norwegian champions Rosenborg will be the other teams attempting to exploit Ballack's absence for the Blues' opening round of European competition.