Gunter: We can cope without Bale

Chris Gunter believes Wales will prove they are not a one-man band when they attempt to keep their World Cup qualification hopes alive without Gareth Bale.

The Real Madrid forward picked up his second yellow card of the campaign during Friday night’s fiery goalless draw with the Republic of Ireland at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin.

Bale must serve a onematch suspension and will miss the visit to Group D leaders Serbia on June 11.

Neil Taylor will also be absent in Belgrade, the Aston Villa defender facing a potential three-match ban for the challenge which saw Republic captain Seamus Coleman require surgery on his shattered right leg.

“We’ve missed important players in the past and we’ve always said it’s not a one-man team,” Gunter said.

“For Gaz to play well, he needs the team. That won’t change in the summer.

“It’s up to us to fill that gap, go there and get a result.

“You’d rather him in your team, but he’s not there and we’ve got to get a result.

“We’re more than capable with the squad we have to go and do that.”

The talismanic Bale, who has scored four goals in this campaign, has not missed a competitive international since October 2013 – 21 games ago.

And his absence could not have come at a worse time, with third-placed Wales four points adrift of Serbia and the Republic at the halfway stage.

But defender Gunter said: “We’ve still got enough games to put a run of wins together, and you can’t predict how other results will go.

“We’d like to have picked up a couple more points, but it’s never easy to qualify.

“We’re still unbeaten and we’re not far away from turning these draws into victories.

“Even though it could be better, we’re not in the worst position we’ve ever been in.

“We’ve shown in the past that we can go anywhere and put wins together

“We’ve got to remember that and stay positive.”