Cardiff (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey’s recall to the Wales squad for next week’s World Cup qualifier with group leaders Serbia is a “no-brainer”, according to manager Chris Coleman.
Coleman included the 25-year-old — as well as in-form fellow midfielder Joe Allen — for a match the Euro 2016 semi-finalists need to win in Cardiff after successive draws stalled their momentum.
Ramsey, though, has only 75 minutes of football under his belt — in the Gunners’ come-from-behind 3-2 Champions League win over Ludogorets on Tuesday — since injuring a hamstring in mid-August.
“He played 75 minutes last night and he looks fit. It was a no-brainer. He is a huge part of what we are trying to do — a massive part of that with the talent he possesses,” Coleman said on Wednesday.
“It was pleasing to see he got so much game time last night and he got an assist for the second goal, so fantastic.
“We have never taken risks with players and we wouldn’t with Aaron Ramsey. With somebody as good as Aaron, something is better than nothing, but we will have to wait and see after this weekend.”
Wales are third in Group D on five points after draws with Georgia and Austria, two points adrift of Serbia and the Republic of Ireland after three matches.
Squad
Goalkeepers: Wayne Hennessey (Crystal Palace/ENG), Danny Ward (Huddersfield Town/ENG on loan from Liverpool), Owain Fon Williams (Inverness/SCO)
Defenders: Ben Davies (Tottenham Hotspur/ENG), James Chester (Aston Villa/ENG), James Collins (West Ham/ENG), Paul Dummett (Newcastle/ENG), Chris Gunter (Reading/ENG), Neil Taylor (Swansea), Ashley Williams (Everton/ENG)
Midfielders: Joe Allen (Stoke/ENG), David Edwards (Wolves/ENG), Emyr Huws (Cardiff), Andy King (Leicester/ENG), Joe Ledley (Crystal Palace/ENG), Shaun MacDonald (Wigan/ENG), Aaron Ramsey (Arsenal/ENG), Jonathan Williams (Ipswich Town/ENG on loan from Crystal Palace)
Forwards: Gareth Bale (Real Madrid/ESP), Hal Robson-Kanu (West Brom/ENG), Sam Vokes (Burnley/ENG), Tom Lawrence (Leicester/ENG), David Cotterill (Birmingham/ENG)
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