Harry Wilson Injury Concern for Wales' Nations League Campaign
Harry Wilson is facing a race against time to be fit for the start of Wales’ Nations League campaign, dealing Craig Bellamy a major setback before a ball has even been kicked in League A.
The Leeds United forward was named in Bellamy’s squad for a daunting run of fixtures against Portugal, Denmark and Norway in September and October. Those plans have been thrown into doubt after Leeds boss Daniel Farke confirmed on Friday that Wilson has suffered a quadriceps muscle injury.
“Harry Wilson is out of this game, a quad injury, he reported some problems after the last game and also during this training week,” Farke said ahead of Leeds’ Premier League clash with Crystal Palace, ruling the 29-year-old out of Sunday’s match.
“He will also probably miss the Welsh games, so definitely not good news for him and also not for the Welsh team.”
That line will have echoed grimly around the FAW offices. Wilson, capped 69 times and with 17 international goals, has been one of Wales’ most reliable attacking threats over the past year. His form had made him central to Bellamy’s blueprint for life back in League A.
Now, that plan is under serious strain.
Injury list mounts for Bellamy
Bellamy was already walking a tightrope with his squad. Key defender Joe Rodon, Wilson’s team-mate at Elland Road, is unavailable. Cardiff City’s defensive pair Dylan Lawlor and Ronan Kpakio are also out.
The problems don’t stop there. Cardiff forwards Isaak Davies and Rubin Colwill are sidelined as well, stripping Wales of more attacking depth. Wrexham’s Nathan Broadhead, another useful option in the final third, is also missing through injury.
One by one, important pieces of Bellamy’s first major squad are being removed.
Tough Nations League schedule looms
Wales return to the top tier of the Nations League with little margin for error and even less room for absentees. They open away to Portugal on 24 September, the first of four fixtures in an extended international window that will stretch the squad to its limits.
After that trip, Wales face a home match against World Cup quarter-finalists Norway, squeezed between two meetings with Denmark. The first of those against the Danes comes in Copenhagen, where the hosts, ranked 21st in the world, will expect to dictate.
Norway, also World Cup quarter-finalists, then arrive in Cardiff on 1 October, before Wales complete the block with a home game against Denmark on 4 October.
All of this comes with Wales sitting 38th in the FIFA world rankings, their lowest position since August 2014. They are back among Europe’s elite on paper, but they will have to prove they belong there without several of their most trusted players.
Bellamy will hope Wales’ medical staff find a more optimistic diagnosis for Wilson than the one delivered at Leeds. If not, his first major test as national team boss just became even more demanding.
