EURO 2008 INFO

Captain Michael Ballack joined the Germany team Monday and proclaimed himself ready to play in a friendly against Belarus on Tuesday.

Ballack missed the first week of Germany's training camp on the Balearic island of Mallorca because of the Champions League final, which his Chelsea lost on penalties to Manchester United last week in Moscow.

"I am here to play immediately," Ballack said after catching up with the team that flew from Mallorca for the game in Kaiserslautern, in southern Germany. "I've put the (Champions League) loss behind me and I am looking ahead."

Germany left strikers Mario Gomez and Kevin Kuranyi and four other players behind at its training camp on Mallorca.

Tuesday's game is one of the two Germany will have ahead of next month's European Championship in Switzerland and Austria. The second is Saturday against Serbia in Gelsenkirchen.

Gomez is nursing a slight calf injury while Kuranyi was given time to rest, according to federation spokesman Harald Stenger. Coach Joachim Loew did not attend the news conference before the flight because of a toothache.

Midfielder Tim Borowski is fighting a cold and also stayed behind, along with defender Arne Friedrich (stomach problems) and reserve goalkeeper Rene Adler (bruised hip). Kuranyi and midfielder Simon Rolfes were given time off to rest and work on their fitness.

The team will fly back to Mallorca after Tuesday's game, before returning home for the match against Serbia. On Wednesday, Loew will cut three players from the 26-man roster.