Germany coach Joachim Loew has called up Middlesbrough defender Robert Huth to his 21-man squad for next Wednesday's friendly against Switzerland in Basel nearly two years after his last cap.

Huth, who was a regular with 17 caps under former coach Juergen Klinsmann while playing for Chelsea, has struggled with injury and form since his last international in 2006, a 3-0 win over Ecuador in their final group match at the World Cup.

"Robert has come back from difficult injury problems and played well in a number of recent matches with very strong defensive performances in the Premier League," Loew said of the 23-year-old Huth.

"That's why he's getting another shot," Loew added.

Loew also welcomed back three other defenders -- Marcell Jansen of Bayern Munich after a long injury absence as well as Hertha Berlin's Arne Friedrich and Werder Bremen's Clemens Fritz. They return after shorter injury absences.

The squad is Loew's last before he unveils a 23-man list for the Euro 2008 finals in Austria and Switzerland in June where Germany face Poland, Croatia and the Austrians in Group B.

Goalkeeper Jens Lehmann, who is no longer first choice at his Premier League club Arsenal, has retained his place for

Wednesday's friendly despite the fine form of youngsters Timo Hildebrand of Valencia and Hanover 96's Robert Enke.

Schalke 04's Manuel Neuer and Bayer Leverkusen's Rene Adler have also been outstanding in goal this season and many expected at least one of them to be called up by Loew, who will select his final squad for Euro 2008 on May 16.

"I have not yet made any final decisions on goalkeepers," Loew said. "We'll be observing the situation closely right up to mid-May. We've still got a number of weeks to go. For anyone who puts in top performances the door to the Euros is still open."

Squad: Goalkeepers: Jens Lehmann (Arsenal), Timo Hildebrand (Valencia), Robert Enke (Hannover 96); Defenders: Arne Friedrich (Hertha Berlin), Robert Huth (Middlesbrough), Marcell Jansen (Bayern Munich), Philipp Lahm (Bayern Munich), Per Mertesacker (Werder Bremen), Heiko Westermann (Schalke 04) Midfielders: Michael Ballack (Chelsea), Thomas Hitzlsperger (VfB Stuttgart), Bernd Schneider (Bayer Leverkusen) Lukas Podolski (Bayern Munich), Simon Rolfes (Bayer Leverkusen), Bastian Schweinsteiger (Bayern Munich), Clemens Fritz (Werder Bremen), Piotr Trochowski (Hamburg SV) Forwards: Mario Gomez (VfB Stuttgart), Miroslav Klose (Bayern Munich), Stefan Kiessling (Bayer Leverkusen), Kevin Kuranyi (Schalke 04).

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Borussia Dortmund striker Alex Frei is set to play his first international match in just over a year after being named in the Swiss squad.

Frei, who was out of action for seven months last year after undergoing a hip and calf operation, was among 21 players selected by Switzerland coach Koebi Kuhn.

The 28-year-old forward, who is just two goals short of equalling Kubilay Tuerkyilmaz's all-time Swiss goal-scoring record, last played for Switzerland in a friendly against Colombia on March 25, 2007. He resumed playing for Dortmund last month.

The friendly against Germany will be played in Basel, one of the eight host cities for Euro 2008.

Switzerland are co-hosting the June tournament with neighbouring Austria and have been drawn in the same group as Turkey, Portugal and the Czech Republic.

Squad: Goalkeepers: Diego Benaglio (Wolfsburg), Fabio Coltorti (Racing Santander), Pascal Zuberbuehler (Neuchatel Xamax) Defenders: Valon Behrami (Lazio), Mario Eggimann (Karlsruhe), Stephan Lichtsteiner (Lille), Ludovic Magnin (Stuttgart), Philippe Senderos (Arsenal), Christoph Spycher (Eintracht Frankfurt), Steve von Bergen (Hertha Berlin) Midfielders: Tranquillo Barnetta (Bayer Leverkusen), Gelson Fernandes (Manchester City), Daniel Gygax (Metz), Benjamin Huggel (Basel), Goekhan Inler (Udinese), Johan Vonlanthen (Salzburg), Hakan Yakin (Young Boys Berne), Reto Ziegler (Sampdoria) Forwards: Eren Derdiyok (Basel), Alex Frei (Borussia Dortmund), Blaise Nkufo (FC Twente)

Reuters