Brooks is back to give Wales a boost
DAVID Brooks has given Wales a welcome boost by returning to Ryan Giggs’ squad for their Nations League clash with Bulgaria in Cardiff tomorrow.
The Bournemouth star missed the 1-0 win over Finland on Thursday with an ankle knock, but was back with Giggs’ men on the training ground yesterday.
Brooks, who has been the subject of summer transfer speculation linking him with moves to Manchester United and Leeds, has not played an international game in 15 months.
The 23-year-old’s last competitive appearance for Wales came in their Euro 2020 qualifying defeat in Hungary in June 2019, a month before he suffered an ankle injury which required two operations.
His return will add to the good mood in the Wales camp following their opening Nations League win in Helsinki, secured by a close-range finish by Cardiff striker Kieffer Moore. And Moore believes the hard-fought victory shows Wales have a winning mentality.
“Winning is a mindset and I don’t think we’re ever going to stray from that,” Cardiff striker Moore said after
Wales’ third successive success.
“We will do everything as a team we can to keep winning.
“It’s a massive result. We are all at different stages of fitness and to get that win under our belt, to go again on Sunday is massive for us and it’s only going to help us going forward.
“Those three points are going to be vital for us.”
Moore’s Finland finish saw him become the first Wales player to score in three consecutive away games since Aaron Ramsey in 2013.
The 28-year-old Torquay-born striker scored vital goals in Euro 2020 qualifying in Slovakia and Azerbaijan last autumn.
Giggs is hoping Wales can take lessons from their win into the clash with Bulgaria, who were held 1-1 by Republic of Ireland on Thursday.
“I thought it was a really gritty performance – not our usual flowing football that we are capable of – but credit to Finland, who made it difficult for us,” he said.
“I think it is the kind of game where we can learn from but also take a lot of pluses because we dug out the result in the end.
“With a clean sheet, you have always got chances because of the players we have got and those players produced again, DJ and Kieffer.”