Welsh national team manager Chris Coleman has revealed that he is not likely to risk star winger Gareth Bale for the World Cup qualifying match against Serbia. Wales will be taking on Serbia in a home match and pressure is on Coleman to win this encounter.
Wales have been on a poor run of form since Coleman took over. However, there has been a lot of buzz surrounding the team after the world record transfer for Gareth Bale to Real Madrid. He has moved to the Spanish club from Tottenham for £ 86 million.
Welsh national team manager Chris Coleman has revealed that he is not likely to risk star winger Gareth Bale for the World Cup qualifying match against Serbia. Wales will be taking on Serbia in a home match and pressure is on Coleman to win this encounter.
Wales have been on a poor run of form since Coleman took over. However, there has been a lot of buzz surrounding the team after the world record transfer for Gareth Bale to Real Madrid. He has moved to the Spanish club from Tottenham for £ 86 million.
Many expect him to be featuring in this match, which would be his first competitive encounter since the move to Madrid. Coleman, though, has said that Bale is not sufficiently fit in order to start the match, but he thinks that the 24 year old will play a role at least as a substitute. Either way, Serbia have to be extremely aware of the threat posed by other players. The likes of Aaron Ramsey and Jack Collison are in an extremely good run of form. Serbia come into the match not in the best form after having recently drawn against Croatia and losing against Belgium in World Cup qualifying matches.
They are third in the table with 11 points on board.
“I’m not thinking about just one game. I’ve got to look at the bigger picture. When we are selecting the team, we are thinking of sending players back fit and not risking them. We have to build long-term relationships and look after players properly. It’s the same for all of them, whether it’s Gareth, Aaron Ramsey or Jack Collison. Will Gareth be ready to start against Serbia? No. Can he play a part? We’ll see,” said Coleman ahead of the match with Serbia on Wednesday night.