Rob Page expects to welcome Tom Lockyer back into the Wales squad in September after the Luton defender collapsed during Saturday’s Sky Bet Championship play-off final.
Lockyer was stretchered off after just eight minutes of the Hatters’ Wembley win against Coventry and remains in hospital.
But Luton boss Rob Edwards has reported the 28-year-old is “fine” and Wales manager Page said Lockyer was in good spirits during a 20-minute telephone conversation he had with the central defender on Monday.
“You are always going to phone your players and show them support,” said Page after confirming Lockyer would be absent from next month’s Euro 2024 qualifiers against Armenia and Turkey.
“It was just to say that we are here for him, in any capacity.
“I am not going into detail of what’s happening or what’s going to happen. That’s conversations we are going to have with Luton Town Football Club.
“It would be silly of me to even suggest what those reasons (for his collapse) were and the most important thing in this is health.
“For us it’s just about getting him fit and ready for our camp in September.”
Wales, who picked up four points from their opening two qualifiers in March, travel to Latvia in September.
David Brooks has been recalled to the Wales squad for the first time since his cancer diagnosis.
Brooks, who was diagnosed with stage-two Hodgkin lymphoma while on international duty in October 2021, announced he was cancer-free in May last year.
The 25-year-old midfielder returned to club action for Bournemouth in March and started the Cherries’ last two Premier League games.
Page said: “I wanted to pick him in March. He played some minutes before that camp and I wanted to get him involved as soon as possible.
“But I get that it was too soon and it was more beneficial for him to stay behind and play for Bournemouth Under-23s in a game that was organised for him.
“Brooksy is definitely part of the changes I wanted to make post-World Cup and the way we want to play. He’s back fit, starting games in the Premier League and has the quality to be in our plans moving forward.”
Neco Williams is also included after fracturing his jaw playing for Nottingham Forest last month. The 22-year-old has not played since.
“He’s not played minutes because of the significance of the injury but he will be fit for camp,” said Page.
“You can’t take away every risk and I think he’s got a protection to wear for that reason.
“He’s so many weeks down the line so I’d think the opportunity of a refracture is very unlikely. We’ll get the medical team to assess him on camp and take away the risk as much as possible.”
Midfielder Aaron Ramsey (calf) and goalkeeper Danny Ward (dislocated finger) have also been named in Page’s 25-man squad despite fitness issues over the pair.
Skipper Ramsey has missed Nice’s last three games in Ligue 1.
Page said: “The little niggle, and that’s all it is, has probably come at a good time for him.
“He’s at an age now where he knows his body and how to manage it.
“He’s got one eye on these two games and it is not an issue. Aaron has played more football this season than he has done for the last few years.”
Bristol City youngster Joe Low has been called up into the senior squad for the first time to replace Lockyer.
Conte embracing Napoli improvements after Como triumph
Antonio Conte is embracing Napoli's recent run of form after they extended their lead at the Serie A summit to four points ahead of the international break.
Scott McTominay's early opener was cancelled out by Gabriel Strefezza, only for star man Romelu Lukaku and substitute David Neres to seal the win after the break.
Conte is now the sixth manager to have won each of his first four home games as Napoli head coach in Serie A, after Paolo Iodice, Luis Vinicio, Alberto Bigon, Carlo Ancelotti and Luciano Spalletti.
The Italian, however, started his Napoli reign with a shock 3-0 defeat to Hellas Verona on the opening day, but his team have since gone seven games unbeaten, scoring 19 goals during that run.
Conte acknowledged that his side may not deserve to be at the top of the table, but felt quietly optimistic about his players' progression during the early stages of his tenure.
"I don't know if this is currently a Napoli that deserves to be in first place in the standings, but we are first and that is a fact," Conte said to DAZN.
"If someone had told me this three months ago, it would have been difficult to believe.
"We're growing in terms of temperament, and in our ability to adapt—playing good football, but also willing to get our hands dirty when we need to.
"That's a great sign, and we have to embrace it fully."
But the encounter against Como was far from comfortable for Conte's side, with the visitors registering 11 shots compared to Napoli's nine, while Cesc Fabregas' men also ended the contest with 59.3% possession.
Napoli, though, created the better chances, ending the encounter with an expected goals (xG) total of 2.02 from their six efforts on target, with Lukaku continuing to flourish under Conte's stewardship.
McTominay's opening goal after 26 seconds was the third-quickest for Napoli in the three-points-per-game era, while the former Manchester United midfielder also became the first Scottish player to score for Gli Azzurri in Serie A.
"We started well in the first half, scoring a great goal, the result of our hard work," Conte said.
"Then we changed things tactically in the second half, and they were no longer in the game.
"We lost too many duels, but that's part of the process of rebuilding confidence and self-esteem."
Conte also showered praise on the home supporters inside the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.
"Playing in Naples, at the Maradona, with a full stadium means that the players can really feel the crowd's emotions," he said.
If you make mistakes, you can feel the disappointment, and that can chip away at your confidence.
"Napoli has a deep passion for football. We try to feed that passion by giving our all, like we did today. In the second half, we improved from every point of view."
Sunderland 2-2 Leeds: Meslier howler gifts Black Cats a point
Illan Meslier's last-gasp error saw Sunderland snatch a point against Leeds at the Stadium of Light on Friday.
The home supporters were sent into raptures by one of their own in the ninth minute when Chris Rigg opened the scoring, tucking home from close range after Meslier had produced a miraculous save to deny Dennis Cirkin's previous effort.
But Sunderland's joy was short-lived when Joel Piroe headed Wilfried Gnonto's inviting delivery beyond Anthony Patterson, though replays showed he may have wandered into an offside position.
Both sides continued to push for a half-time lead, with Brenden Aaronson seeing his shot cleared off the line and Patrick Roberts seeing his effort saved to end a pulsating half of action.
The hosts emerged from the tunnel in the ascendency but were met with a sucker punch in the 56th minute when Junior Firpo's driving run from deep ended with the left-back sweeping the ball into the far corner.
But with the clock ticking into the seventh minute of second-half stoppage time, there was to be one final twist when Alan Browne's flicked pass into the box somehow evaded the grasp of Meslier to preserve Sunderland's unbeaten home record this season.
Data Debrief: Meslier blunder overshadows Leeds display
Leeds were moments away from going level on points with Sunderland at the summit of the Championship, before a moment of madness sealed a gut-wrenching end to an enthralling encounter in the North East.
The visitors ended the contest with an expected goals (xG) total of 2.16 from their 15 shots compared to Sunderland's 1.77, with Piroe contributing 0.72 xG to Leeds' tally.
But their display was overshadowed by Meslier's blunder, with the Frenchman enjoying a strong performance up until that point, making three saves against the Black Cats.
Gabbia, Pisilli and Maldini named in Italy's Nations League squad
Luciano Spalletti has handed four players their senior call-up to the Italy national team ahead of their Nations League fixtures next week.
Italy take on Belgium and Israel in the next round of games, hoping to build on their impressive start in Group A2 after winning their opening two games which included a 3-1 win over France.
Milan defender Matteo Gabbia has been included after an impressive run of performances at centre-back under new head coach Paulo Fonseca.
Gabbia is also the first player from the Rossoneri to be named in the Italy squad in almost 600 days, with Sandro Tonali, who joined Newcastle in 2023, the last Milan representative to feature for the Azzurri.
There was also a place in the squad for Monza's Daniel Maldini, who could follow in the footsteps of his father Paolo, and grandfather Cesare, both former Italy captains.
Maldini has one goal and one assist in seven appearances in all competitions this season, and comes in for Lazio's Matteo Zaccagni.
Juventus goalkeeper Michele Di Gregorio has also been given a first call-up to the senior side, replacing the injured Alex Meret of Napoli.
Roma's Niccolo Pisilli was also named in the squad, replacing Atlanta's Marco Brescianini, who has also suffered a recent injury set-back.
There were five Premier League representatives named in Spalletti's 23-man squad on Friday, with Guglielmo Vicario, Riccardo Calafiori, Caleb Okoli, Destiny Udogie and Tonali also included.
However, there was no space for Liverpool's Federico Chiesa, who did not feature in the Reds' Champions League win over Bologna in midweek.
Italy squad: Michele Di Gregorio (Juventus), Gianluigi Donnarumma (PSG), Guglielmo Vicario (Spurs), Alessandro Bastoni (Inter), Raoul Bellanova (Atalanta), Alessandro Buongiorno (Napoli), Riccardo Calafiori (Arsenal), Andrea Cambiaso (Juventus), Giovanni Di Lorenzo (Napoli), Federico Dimarco (Inter), Matteo Gabbia (Milan), Caleb Okoli (Leicester), Destiny Udogie (Tottenham Hotspur), Nicolo Fagioli (Juventus), Davide Frattesi (Inter), Lorenzo Pellegrini (Roma), Niccolo Pisilli (Roma), Samuele Ricci (Torino), Sandro Tonali (Newcastle United), Moise Kean (Fiorentina), Daniel Maldini (Monza), Giacomo Raspadori (Napoli), Mateo Retegui (Atalanta).
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