Ex-Germany captain Michael Ballack is out of Tuesday’s Champions League clash with holders Barcelona after the former Chelsea star suffered an injury.
The 35-year-old pulled up in training with a torn calf on Sunday and is definitely out of the first-leg match in Leverkusen.
It completed a miserable weekend for Ballack after he was left on the bench for the third consecutive match when Leverkusen lost 1-0 to German league leaders Borussia Dortmund on Saturday.
Ballack won the last of his 98 caps for Germany in March 2010.
His contract expires in June and he’s almost certain to leave Leverkusen at season’s end after a volatile few weeks which saw the German league club threaten to ban Ballack’s agent Michael Becker from their stadium.
Becker fell foul of Leverkusen’s director of sport Rudi Voeller at the start of February after saying Ballack was being treated like a ‘pawn’ by coach Robin Dutt, who has repeatedly kept the midfielder on the bench.
Becker says Ballack’s options at the end of the season include going to play in China, the Middle East or the United States as the ex-Chelsea star brings down the curtain on his career.