Ballack ruled out of final after losing fitness battle

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The Chelsea head coach insisted that the midfielder has a 'zero per cent chance' of playing against Manchester United on Saturday week.

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Striker Andriy Shevchenko had already been ruled out and defender Ricardo Carvalho is rated very doubtful.

But Ballack (pictured above) will be particularly upset after undergoing surgery with the express intention of being fit for the Wembley showpiece and a potential Champions League Final.

He agreed to the operation in Germany because his national team doctor, Hans-Wilhelm Müller-Wohlfahrt, is thought to have advised it was his only hope of recovering in time.

A delay with pain-killing injections had the danger of damaging a nerve in his left ankle because of loose bone there, which was removed.

Yet the operation left him at odds with Mourinho because of communication problems and a difference of opinion with the club's medical team.

Mourinho said: "My relationship with injured players is not special. I am the manager and I have to coach fit players who are ready to play.

"Injured players are injured players. I remember them and have them in my mind because I miss them but I have to concentrate myself on the players who are ready to play."

Carvalho's knee injury is likely to rule him out of the Cup Final but Arjen Robben has a reasonable chance of full recovery from a similar problem.

Didier Drogba's is expected to play and Ashley Cole should also be ready after both sustained ankle problems.

Mourinho said: "I am not confident that Carvalho will make the Final. He has a one per cent chance.

"Drogba was suffering a lot and arrived at a moment when he couldn't do more. We have these next days to get him in perfect condition to play the game."