Germany captain Michael Ballack will miss Saturday's World Cup third place match against Portugal due to a knee injury, the Germany Football Association said on Friday.
'The doctors strongly advise against him playing,' the association's website said.
The 29-year-old midfielder could not take part in a training session in Berlin on Friday due to the injury, the association said.
Ballack also missed out on Germany's appearance against Brazil in the 2002 World Cup final in Yokohama due to picking up two yellow cards in the knockout stages of the competition.
