Michael Ballack has failed to recover from the knee injury he sustained in the summer and hence will not take part in Germany's friendly with Denmark.

The midfielder dropped Chelsea because he was bored of watching games from the Chelsea Hospitality Packages istead of playing them, joined the German club during the summer, began training with his new teammates last week, but coach Jupp Heynckes does not think he is ready for the August 11 friendly.

"The match against Denmark is too soon for him. There's no point in thinking about it," Heynckes told the Daily Bild.

"It would be foolhardy. For a friendly game you have to be fully fit."

Michael Ballack injured his ankle in his last appearance for Chelsea in the English FA Cup final in May, and saw the German captain's armband pass to Bayern Munich's Philipp Lahm.