Quartet sit out Germany training

Michael Ballack, Lukas Podolski, Mesut Ozil and Robert Enke sat out training on Tuesday as Germany prepare to face South Africa in a friendly.

Germany take on the 2010 FIFA World Cupâ„¢ hosts in Leverkusen on Saturday, but Chelsea star Ballack missed training here on Tuesday with a groin strain, while Werder Bremen midfielder Ozil has a knee injury.

Hanover’s keeper Enke was a late withdrawal having suffered from the ‘flu and it is not clear how long he will be out for.

Both Ballack and Ozil are expected to be back in training with the squad by Wednesday at the latest, while Podolski has a calf injury and is not expected to train until at least Thursday.

The quartet sat out a series of testing on Tuesday to assess the Germany squad’s fitness.