Germany coach Joachim Low insists Michael Ballack is in his plans despite dropping him for their opening Euro 2012 qualifiers.

Ballack played no part in Germany's 1-0 win over Belgium in Brussels on Friday and will also miss Tuesday's match against Azerbaijan in Cologne.

The 33-year-old is still recovering from an injury and in his place Real Madrid's Sami Khedira has slotted into Low's side comfortably.

As a result, Khedira has laid down the gauntlet to Ballack by saying that the veteran cannot just waltz back into the German side when he's fit again.

However, Low has been quoted in the German daily Bild on Sunday as saying: "I hope the team continues to grow, and that certainly includes Michael."

But the manager did stop short of confirming whether Ballack would mark his return in October's qualifiers against Turkey and Kazakhstan.

"We must evaluate the situation closer to the time, but the issue was not discussed during my conversations with him," he said.

Ballack has also recently been involved in a public tug-of-war battle for the captaincy with Philipp Lahm.