Hamburg striker Ruud van Nistelrooy has been rewarded for his blistering start to the Bundesliga season with a call-up to the Netherlands squad for their Euro 2012 qualifiers against San Marino and Finland.
The 34-year-old last played for his country in the finals of Euro 2008 after which he announced his international retirement.
He reversed that decision in the hope of getting a call-up to the 2010 World Cup squad only to be overlooked by Dutch coach Bert van Marwijk. But with Arsenal’s Robin van Persie ruled out with an ankle injury, the former Manchester United striker has now been handed a recall.
A KNVB statement this afternoon revealed Van Persie will be out for “at least a few weeks”.
Van Persie suffered the injury playing for the Gunners in the 2-1 win at Blackburn on Saturday.
His injury opens the door for Van Nistelrooy, who has netted six goals in three games for Hamburg this season. The former PSV Eindhoven, Manchester United and Real Madrid star has netted 33 goals in 64 games for his country.
The Dutch play San Marino on Friday before taking on Finland in Rotterdam on September 7th.