?Leverkusen midfielder and German veteran Michael Ballack would not play soccer until the end of the year due to his tibial plateau fracture, the club said Wednesday.

Checks showed that the injury was substantially worse than expected; Ballack was hurt during a challenge at the Bundesliga match against Hannover on September 11.

"What an unfortunate development. I hope Michael finishes the rehab to return to the team," head coach Jupp Heynckes said.

The club and the doctors said that Ballack would be ruled out for four to six weeks but things turned out to be much worse.

The 34-year-old Ballack has to wear a splint for the next six weeks until he can start with rehab training.

"That's a misfortune that Michael's comeback delays, but he has to swallow it to get up. The objective must be his comeback with the start of the second half of the season. First at Leverkusen and then hopefully at the national team," Leverkusen manager Rudi Voeller said.