SEVEN SIDELINED FOR PAGE’S DRAGONS
WALES’ World Cup clash against Belarus has turned into an even bigger nightmare than predicted by Rob Page.
Seven players have now been ruled out of Sunday’s qualifier in the Russian city of Kazan through injury and visa issues.
As well as seeing the likes of Aaron Ramsey and Joe Rodon missing through injury, Page has also lost the services of Ethan Ampadu, Tyler Roberts and Brandon Cooper as they failed to obtain visas to fly to Russia.
Wales travel to Finland for a friendly tomorrow before heading to Kazan to take on Belarus.
They then return to Cardiff to meet Estonia for another Group E game on September 8. The Dragons boss predicted problems last week and warned of logistical issues for the match which is being played behind closed doors.
Page said: “Organising this trip from a financial and logistical point of view has been a nightmare.
“The work that has gone into it is crazy.
We tried to appeal but were shot down straight away.”
The thigh injury to Ramsey is a big blow to Page’s plans but skipper Gareth Bale is fit.
Manchester United’s Dylan Levitt says Wales can’t use the injury issues and red tape problems as an excuse.
Levitt was forced to fly from Scotland, where he is currently playing for Dundee United, to Coventry to process his paperwork in order to play.
He said: “We can’t let injuries or unavailability get in our way.
“It was a big bonus going through to the last 16 at the Euros. Now we want to take qualification for the World Cup into our own hands.”