Masked man Ballack up for Valencia battle
Reuters - Monday 31 October 2011, 17:45
Michael Ballack will
start for Bayer Leverkusen at Valencia in Champions League Group
E on Tuesday as long as he is comfortable with a black,
carbon-fibre mask designed to protect his broken nose, coach
Robin Dutt said on Monday.
The former Chelsea midfielder and Germany captain sustained
the injury in Friday's 1-0 Bundesliga win against Freiburg and
Dutt said a final decision on Ballack's participation would be
taken after a training session later on Monday.
"If he is happy with the situation then he'll be in the
starting XI," Dutt told a news conference at Valencia's Mestalla
stadium.
The decisive factor would be whether Ballack was able to
head the ball without hindrance, he added.
Leverkusen are second in the group on six points, one behind
leaders Chelsea. La Liga side Valencia have two and Racing Genk
of Belgium have one.