AARON RAMSEY will miss Wales’ opening two World Cup qualifiers.
The Juventus midfielder, 30, has been ruled out of Wednesday’s trip to Belgium and the home clash with the Czech Republic on March 30 with a thigh injury.
Wales named Ramsey in their squad last Monday but he missed Juve’s last two Serie A games.
On Sunday night, the Welsh FA tweeted: “Aaron Ramsey is unable to join up with the squad due to injury.”
It is a blow for Wales caretaker boss Robert Page, who has stepped in for Ryan Giggs as the Dragons manager remains on special leave after his arrest in November.
Page stated he wanted to assess Ramsey’s injury but the playmaker will not make the trip from Italy.
Ramsey has only played once in Wales’ last eight internationals.
Defender James Lawrence, who plays for German side St Pauli, will meet up with Page’s squad in Belgium due to cross-border quarantine restrictions.
Former Wales captain Ashley Williams starts coaching with the Under-17s next month as he completes his A license.
Ramsey sat out of Juventus’ shock 1-0 defeat at home to Benevento on Sunday.
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The loss left Andrea Pirlo’s side ten points behind Serie A leaders Inter Milan with the Old Lady chasing a tenth consecutive Scudetto.
Before the game, Juve president Andrea Agnelli presented Cristiano Ronaldo with a ‘GOAT 770’ shirt to commemorate his record-breaking goalscoring feats.
Brazilian Pele congratulated the Portuguese superstar, 36, for overtaking him in the all-time standings.
Ronaldo had the ball in the net for goal 771 but was flagged offside on a frustrating day for the former Real Madrid star.
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
