Berlin  - Hertha Berlin decided Thursday against signing Australia midfielder Scott Chipperfield following a medical test.

The club said it was uncertain when the 33-year-old player would recover from a foot injury suffered playing for FC Basel a week ago.

Hertha coach Lucien Favre is looking for a player on the left of midfield who can slot in straight away when the Bundesliga resumes at the end of the month.

Chipperfield was quoted by Basler Zeitung's online edition as saying: "I'm very disappointed but it's still OK for me to return to Basel."

Hertha, who are third in the Bundesliga table, two points behind leaders Hoffenheim and second-placed Bayern Munich, will now look elsewhere.

Club general manager Dieter Hoeness said he had "four or five" other candidates. According to German media reports, one of them could be Croatian Marko Babic, a former Bayer Leverkusen player now in Spain with Real Betis. (dpa)