Wales v England: gareth bale ruled out of Euro 2012 qualifying clash with hamstring injury
Wales will be without their biggest threat in their Euro 2012 qualifying match against England on Saturday after Tottenham midfielder Gareth Bale was ruled out of the match with a hamstring injury.
Bale out: Gareth Bale will take no part in Wales's Euro 2012 qualifying match against England in Cardiff due to a hamstring injury Photo: PA
By John Ley 8:54AM GMT 24 Mar 2011
John's Twitter
Gareth Bale is set to miss Wales’s European Championship qualifier with England on Saturday after suffering a recurrence of a hamstring injury.
The Tottenham player has recently missed six games with a back problem but and completed his first full 90 minutes since mid-January only last weekend.
It is understood the back injury has led to further complications meaning that a player regarded by many as a potential Footballer of the Year will be denied the chance to lead Wales’ hopes.
Wales are expected to confirm the news later today and it will be received gratefully in the England camp.
But it is a devastating blow for Wales, who believed that a fully fit Bale could help them achieve a shock in front of a sell-out capacity Millennium Stadium.
Bale will also be hugely disappointed. Before the problem, he said: “A lot of us haven’t played against England for the full team. It will be a great occasion and one we all want to play in. I definitely think it will be a great experience for us to play at the highest level and it will stand us in good stead for the future.
“Now is the time we need to start delivering and there’s no better game than to beat England.”
The anticipated withdrawal has already drawn criticism from Raymond Verheijen, Wales’ Dutch assistant manager, has been controversially vocal on the treatment of players since arriving in Britain, using microblogging website Twitter to voice his concern.
Already today, Verheijen has claimed, via Twitter, that contrary to reports ‘he did not train at all yesterday’.
And then the man who has reached the semi-finals of five major international tournaments added cryptically: “This morning there will be an official statement by Gary Speed about the situation with Gareth Bale. The incompetent amateurs struck again!”
footballer of the year, raymond verheijen, england camp, millennium stadium, euro 2012, gareth bale, rsquo, better game, twitter, back injury, six games, stead, midfielder, recurrence, tottenham, cardiff, clash, match, gmt, contrary
No comments:
Post a Comment