Tottenham Forward Brennan Johnson Returns to 23-Strong Squad After Injury
Key Highlights :
Tottenham forward Brennan Johnson has returned to the 23-strong Wales squad after recovering from a hamstring injury. The 22-year-old was a key member of the squad that earned a 2-1 victory over World Cup semi-finalists Croatia last month, but was forced to miss out due to the injury.
Johnson’s return is a major boost for Wales ahead of two crucial games that will determine whether they qualify automatically for next summer’s European Championship in Germany. Johnson is joined in the squad by his Spurs teammate Ben Davies, who missed his club’s 4-1 Premier League defeat to Chelsea on Monday with an ankle problem.
Portsmouth midfielder Joe Morrell is also included after serving a two-game suspension. Morrell was sent off in the 2-0 away defeat to Turkey in June and replaces Hibernian’s Dylan Levitt in the squad.
York-born Niall Huggins is also included in the squad after some excellent performances for Sunderland, which included his first senior goal, a stunning solo effort against Watford at the Stadium of Light. Huggins qualifies for Wales through his Bangor-born father and has won four caps at Under-21 level.
Regan Poole and Wes Burns were both involved in last month’s friendly against Gibraltar but miss out this time after picking up respective knee and shoulder injuries. Charlie Savage, Josh Low, Luke Harris and Owen Beck are also absent and set to return to the under-21 set-up for their Euro qualifiers against Iceland and Denmark this month.
Tom King is third-choice goalkeeper, with Adam Davies yet to recover from the injury which forced his departure from the Wales camp before the Gibraltar game. Skipper Aaron Ramsey is unavailable because of a knee injury that has sidelined him for the last two months.
Wales face Armenia in Yerevan on November 18 before welcoming Turkey to Cardiff three days later – and two wins would see them qualify for a third successive European Championships. Group leaders Turkey have already booked their spot at Euro 2024, with Wales, Armenia and Croatia contesting the second automatic place. If they fail to make the top two, Wales are guaranteed a play-off place in March through their top-tier status in the last edition of the Nations League.
The return of Johnson and the inclusion of Huggins will give Wales a major boost as they look to secure their place in next summer’s European Championship. With two wins in their remaining two games, Wales could be celebrating qualification for the tournament in Germany.
