Ballack out GERMANY's captain Michael Ballack has been ruled out of the World Cup with the ankle injury he sustained playing in Chelsea's 1-0 FA Cup final win over Portsmouth, the German Football Federation (DFB) has confirmed. Ballack was injured by a tackle from Portsmouth's Kevin-Prince Boateng in which his ankle buckled. Although the midfielder tried to play on, he was forced to come off the field before the interval. He left Wembley with his leg in a protective boot. The 33-year-old underwent an MRI scan in Munich this morning to assess the damage, and the scan showed ligament damage to his right ankle. "National team captain Michael Ballack is out of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa," the DFB said. "This is the result of an MRI on Monday morning in Munich. A tear of the medial collateral ligament of the right ankle was found. The right ankle is immobilised in plaster. He will have to wear a special shoe for two weeks. "After the diagnosis of national team doctor Hans-Wilhelm Muller-Wohlfahrt, a complete healing of the injury is expected. Ballack's return to training is possible at the earliest in eight weeks." Threatening volcanic ash AS IF they did not have enough to worry about after a turbulent week, British Football Association executives have been liaising with airlines and the Met Office over whether the England World Cup squad would be able to leave for their high-altitude training camp in Austria. As airports in northern England, Scotland, Ireland and Northern Ireland were forced to close due to the reappearance of the dense cloud of volcanic ash over British airspace, England players were waiting nervously to see whether London airports would be affected. An FA spokesman said the association was in "constant" touch with the relevant authorities as it monitored the situation. Contingency plans have been made domestically, should the ash cloud close London airports, which would see England's players training at their normal base in the capital. After a turbulent week that began with the England manager, Fabio Capello, roundly criticised for the launch of an online player rating index that has now been put on ice until after the World Cup and ended with the resignation of the FA chairman, Lord Triesman, the ash cloud could present another obstacle to the squad's World Cup plans. The high-altitude training camp in Irdning was used by Capello when he was in charge at Real Madrid and he has emphasised his estimation of its importance in preparing for the conditions in Rustenburg, South Africa, where England will open their World Cup campaign against the United States on 12 June. The Met Office said that wind patterns should change by the middle of the week, directing the ash cloud away from Britain. Trio cut from Dutch squad HOLLAND coach Bert van Marwijk has trimmed his provisional squad to 27 players after confirming Otman Bakkal, Wout Brama and David Mendes Da Silva would not travel to South Africa. Van Marwijk made the decision ahead of a training camp in Austria. "I think the balance in the group is better now," the coach said. Vurnon Anita survived the cull with Van Marwijk talking up the chances of the Ajax left back. "He is versatile, fast, and aggressive and dares to attack," he said in De Telegraaf newspaper. He can play right back as well for example. We have some problems in certain positions. (Giovanni) van Bronckhorst is not yet fit while (Khalid) Boulahrouz and (Edson) Braafheid have had little playing time and are lacking rhythm." The party which travels to Austria will be missing Bayern Munich duo Arjen Robben and Mark van Bommel and Inter Milan's Wesley Sneijder with all three due to participate in Saturday's Champions League final in Madrid. Spain brush off bribery claims SPANISH Football Federation secretary-general Jorge Perez Arias insists it is "ridiculous" to suggest his country would try to bribe World Cup referees. Chairman of the British Football Association Lord Triesman was quoted as saying Spain were seeking help from the Russian federation to influence referees at this summer's finals in South Africa. In return, Spain would pledge their support to Russia's bid to host the 2018 World Cup if their own attempt to stage the tournament fell by the wayside. The alleged comments from Triesman, head of England's bid to host the 2018 World Cup, saw him resign from his position which may have suffered irreparable damage due to the claims. Perez Arias, who heads Spain's joint bid with Portugal to host the World Cup in eight years' time, and Portuguese FA president Gilberto Madail have since shrugged off such suggestions.
