Joe Allen is to come out of international retirement and return to the Wales squad for this month’s Nations League double header against Iceland and Montenegro. Craig Bellamy will confirm his squad on Wednesday morning.
The 34-year-old Swansea midfielder stepped down from Wales duty a couple of months after the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, after which the former captain Gareth Bale and defender Chris Gunter retired altogether.
Bellamy, the Wales manager, has convinced Allen to return to the international fold after injuries to captain Aaron Ramsey and Ethan Ampadu heightened the need to find alternatives in midfield. Allen, who has 74 caps, has represented Wales at three major tournaments, his first a run to the semi-finals at Euro 2016.
The Leeds captain Ampadu faces up to four months out with a knee injury, and Ramsey is sidelined with a hamstring problem. Wales’s fit midfielders include Jordan James, who joined Rennes from Birmingham in the summer, Bolton’s Josh Sheehan, Reading’s Charlie Savage and Allen’s club-mate Oli Cooper.
Swansea’s head coach, Luke Williams, said last week Allen was “excited” by the prospect of a Wales return. Last month Bellamy met Williams and Allen to explore a potential return. The Bellamy era began last month with an entertaining draw against Turkey and a victory in Montenegro. Bellamy succeeded his former Wales teammate Rob Page in July.
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Discussing Allen’s possible Wales comeback before Ampadu’s injury, Williams said: “I don’t think this is a distraction for him, but is a welcome change of scenery and chance to be reinvigorated. I don’t think Craig is really thinking that Joe’s going to have to play two games for 90 minutes during the international break.”