Piszczek swaps the beach for the breach

Leo Beenhakker called Łukasz Piszczek "a great professional" after the winger abandoned his holiday in Rhodes to replace Jakub Błaszczykowski in the Poland squad.

Holiday over
The Hertha BSC Berlin player, omitted from the provisional 26-man selection, was happy to curtail his summer break once the national team came calling after Błaszczykowski succumbed to a hamstring problem. "I called Piszczek on Thursday and he was in Rhodes on holiday, but he had been training in the gym and working every day," Beenhakker said of the 23-year-old. "He came to our camp early on Friday. He came from Rhodes via Athens and Vienna and is in excellent condition. He is a great professional."

Dignified exit
Wisła Kraków forward Wojciech Łobodziński is likely to take Błaszczykowski's place in the lineup for Poland's opener against Germany in Klagenfurt on Sunday – and Beenhakker said the BV Borussia Dortmund midfielder had taken his exclusion with good grace. "He was disappointed because he wanted to play in the European Championship, but he was first to say he was not ready to play against Germany," said the Dutchman.

Tough decision
"Błaszczykowski was a very important player for the team but that's football and now I have to concentrate on the players who are here," he added. "After tests by the medical staff, his situation made it impossible for him to play against Germany. He would have needed four or five days to recover from the injury and then maybe another four or five days. It was impossible to get him in the right shape in time, so we had to make the very difficult decision. It was disappointing for the team and for him, but we had to make the decision."