Boulahrouz in for Babel

Khalid Boulahrouz has been called into the Holland squad to replace the injured Ryan Babel.

Van Basten opts to bring defender back into squad

Khalid Boulahrouz has been called into the Holland squad for Euro 2008 to replace the injured Ryan Babel. Liverpool forward Babel was ruled out of the upcoming tournament after damaging ankle ligaments in training on Saturday. But, rather than bring in a like-for-like replacement, Dutch coach Marco van Basten has drafted Boulahrouz into his plans. Boulahrouz, who spent the season on loan at Sevilla from Chelsea, had been the unlucky player dropped from Van Basten's final 23-man squad earlier in the week. The versatile stopper had been in Van Basten's thinking due to concerns over the fitness of fellow defenders Andre Ooijer and Mario Melchiot. The Premier League duo shrugged off knocks to take their places in Van Basten's squad, leaving Boulahrouz facing up to missing the tournament. However, Babel's own misfortune has handed Boulahrouz a reprieve and he will travel with his team-mates to Austria and Switzerland.