Page will use warm-up games to assess fitness of key players
ROB Page says he will name an experimental Wales side to take on France tonight. The head coach announced his 26-man squad for Euro 2020 on Sunday and will see his side take on the reigning World Cup champions in the first of two pre-tournament friendlies.
Tottenham Hotspur defender Ben Davies, Juventus star Aaron Ramsey and Stoke City midfielder Joe Allen are among those recovering from injuries, with Page confirming several players will need to be carefully managed before the upcoming tournament.
Wales boss Page has stated the contests with France and Albania will be used to help him determine his starting side for Wales’ opening match of the European Championships against Switzerland in Azerbaijan on Saturday, June 12.
“We’ve got players that need minutes and we’ve got players that aren’t quite ready, so we’ve got to manage that as well,” said Page.
“Some of the players will play a certain amount of minutes in their recovery from being injured or getting up to full fitness
“Our focus is on Switzerland in the first game of the tournament.
“These two friendlies are going to help us achieve getting our best XI on that pitch for Switzerland.
“Aaron has not played the amount of minutes that he would have liked in Italy. We have to be sympathetic. We can’t push him at 100 miles per hour to start with.
“What is important is I have all the best players in the squad ready for that first game against Switzerland.
“It’s pointless pushing him early doors and have somebody break down when you are past that point of no return and they are out for the first couple of games.
“Ben Davies and all the lads that haven’t played many minutes, we have to manage their minutes. You can’t expect those players to go straight into playing France for 90 minutes without having repercussions. It’s common sense.”
Wales are set to come up against some of the world’s greatest attacking talents when they face France in Nice.
The likes of Antoine Griezmann, Kylian Mbappe and Karim Benzema could feature against the Red Dragons, and Joe Rodon knows the visitors will need to be at their best when they lock horns with Didier Deschamps’ men.
“They’re a top nation, world champions coming off the last major tournament ,” the defender said.
“We know it’s going to be a very tough game.
“We want to be in these games, and it’s only going to make us all better.
“We’re excited for the opportunity to play against a team like this and we’re just looking forward to the game.”
Rodon has won 12 caps since making his international debut against Azerbaijan in a Euro 2020 qualifier in September 2019.
His impressive form with Swansea City and Wales earned him a move to Tottenham in October last year, although Rodon was restricted to just 12 Premier League appearances in his debut campaign in north London.
But the 23-year-old admits training with the likes of Harry Kane, Son Heung-min and Gareth Bale on a daily basis with Spurs has helped him to develop as a defender.
“I think every player would like to play more minutes but with the situation, it was what it was,” he added.
“I got to train every day, work hard and play with some top players, so that’s always going to keep me on the straight line. We’ve got these two friendlies to build some match fitness, and I’m sure we’ll go into the tournament ready to go.”
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