Harry Wilson Injury Impact on Wales' Nations League Campaign
Harry Wilson’s stunning year in a Wales shirt has hit a brutal snag at the worst possible time.
The Leeds United forward is now a major doubt for the start of Wales’ Nations League campaign, just as Craig Bellamy’s side prepare to step back into League A against heavyweight opposition.
Wilson had been named in Bellamy’s squad for a demanding run of fixtures against Portugal, Denmark and Norway in September and October. He was expected to be a central figure. Instead, his club manager Daniel Farke has confirmed a quadriceps muscle injury that already rules the 29-year-old out of Leeds’ Premier League game at home to Crystal Palace on Sunday.
“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 of the 69-cap forward, who has 17 goals for his country. “He will also probably miss the Welsh games, so definitely not good news for him and also not for the Welsh team.”
For Bellamy, it is a gut punch. Wilson has been one of Wales’ most reliable attacking threats over the past 12 months, often dragging them forward with his left foot and big-game temperament. Losing that form and experience on the eve of a return to the top tier of the Nations League is exactly what he did not need.
And the injury list is already long.
- Key defender Joe Rodon, Wilson’s Leeds team-mate, is out.
- Cardiff City’s defensive pair Dylan Lawlor and Ronan Kpakio are also unavailable.
- Two more Cardiff players, forwards Isaak Davies and Rubin Colwill, are sidelined as well.
- Wrexham attacker Nathan Broadhead will miss out through injury.
It leaves Bellamy facing a daunting schedule with a patched-up squad.
Wales open away to Portugal on 24 September, the first of four games in an extended international window. They then face Denmark twice, with a home clash against World Cup quarter-finalists Norway squeezed in between.
The backdrop is unforgiving. Wales sit 38th in the FIFA world rankings, their lowest position since August 2014. Denmark, who await in Copenhagen later in the window, are ranked 21st. Norway, also World Cup quarter-finalists, come to Cardiff on 1 October before Wales close the block with a home meeting against Denmark on 4 October.
Bellamy and his staff will want to run their own checks on Wilson, clinging to any chance of good news. But Farke’s assessment already paints a bleak picture.
League A, a brutal schedule, a slide down the rankings and a squad stripped of leaders.
If Wales are to punch their way back among Europe’s elite, they may have to do it without one of their most trusted match-winners.
