16 Mar 2011 07:55:00
Gareth Bale – Galles (Bongarts)
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EXCLUSIVE
By Wayne Veysey | Chief correspondent
Wales are confident of unleashing Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey for the full 90 minutes in the crunch Euro 2012 qualifying clash with England later this month, Goal.com UK can reveal.
Manager Gary Speed has spoken to Tottenham and Arsenal about the key duo and has been told they are both approaching full fitness and will be available for the entirety of the March 26 qualifier in Cardiff.
Bale has made two substitute appearances for Spurs following six weeks on the sidelines with a back injury while Ramsey made his first Arsenal appearance in over a year against Manchester United last weekend following loan spells at Cardiff City and Nottingham Forest as he continues his recovery from a career-threatening leg injury.
It is understood that Bale has been pencilled in by Tottenham to play for 60 minutes in their Premier League match against West Ham on Saturday lunchtime in what would be his first start since January.
“Bale will have had another week’s rest by the time of the international and, assuming he has no setbacks, there should be no problem in him playing the whole game,” a source told Goal.com UK. “The timing is good for Wales because his spell out injured will have enabled him to regain his freshness after playing so many matches without a rest.
“Ramsey played five full matches in a month for Cardiff during his loan, which was maybe one more than Arsenal had expected. He is not yet back to the standard he reached before his injury but he is a central part of Wales’ plans.”
Bale and Ramsey both joined up with the Wales camp ahead of Speed’s first match as manager last month – which they lost 3-0 to Republic of Ireland – even though neither were fit to play, which was viewed by national team officials as an encouraging sign of their commitment to the cause.
Speed’s plan 10 days before the Millennium Stadium encounter is to play a 4-2-3-1 formation with Bale on the left of the three and Ramsey one of the two central midfielders.
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