Germany manager Oliver Bierhoff has accused Chelsea of denying Michael Ballack permission to participate in an adidas promotional campaign.

Chelsea denied the suggestion tonight but by then Bierhoff had already gone public in his condemnation of the London club.

'That is not how you treat a Germany player and in particular our captain,' said Bierhoff.

'He is regarded highly throughout Europe and I am astonished by the way Chelsea have acted.'

Bierhoff was puzzled by Chelsea's stance given the club also have a sponsorship deal with adidas.

'It is absolutely not right that they act like this with us and adidas, who are also their partners, but it seems they have different methods at their club,' added Bierhoff.

'We will certainly be going back to them to follow this up.

'Having direct contact and sharing our views is important and we will certainly be giving them our opinion.'

The Germany captain is currently recovering from ankle surgery, an injury which prompted Chelsea to leave him off their 23-man squad list for the group stage of the Champions League.

Chelsea insist they took the decision because they could not guarantee Ballack would be fit for the majority of their six group matches, suggesting he will not return until the end of October at the earliest.

Miroslav Klose celebrated his 70th cap and debut as captain in the starting line-up with two goals as Germany took a step closer to Euro 2008 qualification with a convincing 2-0 win over Wales.

Klose needed just five minutes in Cardiff to celebrate his milestone when Germany's attack sliced through the Welsh defence and Kevin Kuranyi slid a pass to his skipper for the 28-year-old to put his side ahead. And when Wales defender Gareth Bale was robbed by midfielder Roberto Hilbert just before the hour mark, his cross was met by Klose's bullet header as the Bayern Munich striker scored his 35th international goal.

With midfielders Michael Ballack and Torsten Frings out with injury, as well as Bernd Schneider serving a one-match suspension, the role of chief playmaker went to Bastian Schweinsteiger. The Bayern Munich player earned his man-of-the-match award and out-shone his captain with a superb performance to boss the midfield as Germany underlined their status as run-away Group D leaders.

An inexperienced Wales side had little to offer with Wolverhampton Wanderers striker Freddy Eastwood, who had been full of talk of embarrassing German goalkeeper Jens Lehmann, being given precious little space by the compact German defence.

Wigan midfielder Jason Koumas and replacement striker Robert Earnshaw each had a chance either side of half-time, but Germany were always in control and Klose went close to completing his hat-trick on several occasions. Joachim Loew's side could have increased their lead still further when Bastian Schweinsteiger clipped the bar late on.

Germany defender Philipp Lahm will miss Saturday's Euro 2008 qualifier against Wales in Cardiff after suffering a knee injury in training on Thursday.

The German Football Association (DFB) said the Bayern Munich player was heading straight back home after straining ligaments in his left knee.

Lahm had been due to play either at right back or in midfield against Wales on Saturday.

His absence means a further headache for coach Joachim Loew, who is already without senior midfielders Michael Ballack, Torsten Frings, Bernd Schneider and Tim Borowski.

Lahm will also miss Germany's friendly international against Romania in Cologne on Wednesday, the DFB said in a statement.

Germany lead qualifying Group D with 19 points from seven matches, five points ahead of the Czech Republic in second place. Wales are down in fifth place with seven points from six games.

Michael Ballack's Chelsea future is set to come under further scrutiny after Germany head coach Joachim Low claimed the player was mystified by the club's decision to omit him from their Champions League squad.

Ballack was left out of Chelsea's squad for the group stages after the club insisted that an ankle injury would prevent him from being fit.

Ballack has not played since undergoing ankle surgery and the Chelsea medical department maintained that the Germany captain would not be back in time to play any part in the group qualifiers.

Privately, Chelsea insist the midfielder is going nowhere but there are signs of growing impatience on Ballack's behalf after Low revealed the player was at a loss to explain the club's decision.

Chelsea had to name their Champions League squad for their Group B games last Friday but Ballack is hopeful of making a return at the beginning of November.

Now Low has inflamed the situation further by claiming the midfielder cannot fathom Chelsea's reasoning.

Low, preparing Germany for their Group D, Euro 2008 qualifier against Wales, said: 'I discussed it with Michael and he could not fully explain Chelsea's decision to me.

'Chelsea's doctors estimate he will not be able to play for two to three more months, but Michael is much more optimistic and expects to play sooner. For us, Chelsea's decision isn't justifiable.'

Chelsea and Germany have a history of feuding over Ballack. The Barclays Premier League side were more than unhappy with Ballack's decision to fly home for ankle surgery last May on the advice of German doctors.

The operation ruled him out of Chelsea's crucial UEFA Champions League semi-final against Liverpool and the FA Cup final.

Meanwhile Chelsea defender Ricardo Carvalho says it is important that the Blues get off to a good start in the Champions League.

Although Ballack will not be involved, Chelsea still have to overcome Valencia, Schalke and Rosenborg to reach the knockout stage.

Carvalho, a winner of Europe's top competition with Porto, said: 'They are not easy teams to play against, we know more or less Valencia because we played last year, and Schalke are a good team and had a good season. Rosenborg I don't know so much, but the first game is at home so that is good.

'I've been to the semi final twice with Chelsea and had good experiences. Of course I won with Porto, that's my best football moment so far. It's a competition some players can't get, and its difficult to get it, it's a pleasure to have that medal.

'Last season, we didn't have the luck with us because we missed penalties, so let's see. When we start we are thinking about winning the Champions League because it's important for us, but you must have a little bit of luck.

'After 90 minutes in the group stage, if you don't play well you can't go out so you have a little bit of room, you need that.

'It's important in this competition to start winning, at home you have to win and try your best away. The sooner you get the points the better.'