Thinking of betting on the World Cup? Visit easyodds.com and claim over £500 worth of free bets – Click here now.

Germany’s preparations for the opening game of the World Cup suffered a setback when captain Michael Ballack missed training with a calf strain.

A German Football Association spokesman said Ballack missed the session and trained on his own, but played down the the severity of the injury.

“It’s precautionary because the players will be doing sprints in the main session,” said the spokesman.

Germany meet Costa Rica in the opening match of the World Cup on Friday.

Ballack played in Friday’s 3-0 warm-up friendly win over Colombia and also played against Japan, but missed another friendly with Luxembourg because of a sprained ankle.

Thinking of betting on the World Cup? Visit easyodds.com and claim over £500 worth of free bets – Click here now.