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Germany captain Michael Ballack will miss the host’s World Cup curtain-raiser against Costa Rica on Friday.

The Chelsea midfielder sustained a calf injury in a friendly against Colombia on 2 June and was forced to withdraw from training on Wednesday.

Germany coach Jurgen Klinsmann said: “He’s our leader and our skipper and we hoped to have him available.

“But it’s a pity not a problem. We’re in great shape without him.”

Klinsmann has stuck by his policy of not selecting anyone who could not train 48 hours before a match.

“It’s more important for us to get him back in shape so that he can rejoin practice and get in shape for the next matches,” Klinsmann added.

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