Oranje jolted by Babel breakdown
Saturday, May 31, 2008
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Netherlands forward Ryan Babel has been ruled out of the summer finals after damaging ankle ligaments in training at the Hoenderloo base on Saturday morning.
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Ryan Babel has been ruled out of the Netherlands squad for UEFA EURO 2008™ after suffering an ankle injury in training on Saturday.
Torn ligaments
The 21-year-old Liverpool FC forward tore ankle ligaments during practice in the Dutch village of Hoenderloo and his hopes of appearing in Austria and Switzerland look to be over. Initial examinations suggest he will be sidelined "for several weeks at least".
'A real pity'
With Babel having featured in eleven of the Netherlands' 12 qualifying matches, his loss will be a big blow for Marco van Basten. "The injury came out of nothing," said the Oranje coach, who is permitted to call up a replacement. "There was no contact with any other player. Maybe it was caused by end-of-season tiredness. It is a real pity he is no longer available – he has done good things in recent weeks."
Wales friendly
Used as a second-half substitute in each of the Netherlands' last two friendlies, Babel scored against Ukraine on Thursday. The Oranje begin life without the former AFC Ajax player in their final warm-up game against Wales tomorrow. They kick off their UEFA EURO 2008™ campaign versus world champions Italy on 9 June.