Wales lose Ramsey for Lions battle
AARON Ramsey will miss Wales’s clash with England on Thursday night.
The 29-year-old remains in “fiduciary isolation” with his Juventus team mates after two members of club staff, neither of whom were players or technical or medical personnel, tested positive for coronavirus.
Andrea Pirlo’s side were due to face Napoli in Serie A on Sunday night, although the match was unable to go ahead after Gennaro Gattuso’s men failed to turn up for the fixture.
Napoli claim they returned two positive Covid-19 tests and were instructed not to travel, forming their own bubble in similar fashion to that of Juventus.
And yesterday morning, the Football Association of Wales confirmed that Ramsey would not feature against England at Wembley.
An FAW statement read: “Aaron Ramsey is currently unable to join the squad until after the England match.”
The FAW remain hopeful that Ramsey will be available for Wales’s Nations League clashes with the Republic of Ireland and Bulgaria.
However, the fixture with Stephen Kenny’s troops has plunged into doubt as Ireland’s National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) has told the government they should move to Level Five coronavirus restrictions for four weeks, which would mean a return to a full lockdown and the halting of all sporting events, according to the BBC.
Ireland’s top politicians will meet the country’s Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan after the recommendation was made in a public letter.
Meanwhile, West Brom striker Hal Robson-kanu has withdrawn from the Red Dragons’ squad due to injury.
Robson-kanu was substituted 60 minutes into the Baggies’ 2-0 defeat to Southampton on Sunday, with Slaven Bilic later confirming he had suffered a wrist injury.
Wales take on Gareth Southgate’s side in London on Thursday night.
They then face Republic of Ireland in Dublin on Sunday afternoon before locking horns with Bulgaria on Wednesday, October 14.
The clash with England is the first between the two countries since England edged a Euro 2016 group game 2-1 in Lens thanks to Daniel Sturridge’s injury-time strike.