Williams hurt his arm when he collided with team-mate Jonny Williams in the final stages of the 1-0 win over Northern Ireland on Saturday and was later photographed with his arm in a sling. He is expected to sit out the practice session when the Wales players return to training today and could be absent tomorrow.
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Eden Hazard was particularly impressive for Marc Wimots’s side – creating and scoring – and Coleman is wary of the challenge posed by the Chelsea player and other big names in the Belgium squad.
“All players at the top level want to play against top teams, where the excitement is, Ash is no different”.
Paul Corkery, a spokesman for the FSF, said the commemoration in the French city has led to scarce and expensive accommodation in Lille, but added: “At this stage, getting this far, we have not thought about it to be honest”.
“It happened to them against Hungary, they went in 1-0 up when it could have been five. When you got your opportunities, you have got to capitalise on them”.
That is exactly what Wales did in June 2015, when Gareth Bale scored the only goal following a mistake by Radja Nainggolan.
“We’ve faced him before but we won’t have special plans for one player”. It was a match Coleman believes showed the defensive resilience of his team and a result that shifted their mentality. I’d be surprised if he doesn’t make the game, so we’ll do whatever we need to, give him whatever he needs physically as the best stimulus to get his legs moving and ready for the next game. With their quality they will not change style.
“But they are not unbeatable – and we know from our experience that on our day, at our best, we can cause Belgium problems”.
Wales captain Ashley Williams is a doubt for the game after injuring his shoulder against Northern Ireland, and midfielder Aaron Ramsey may deputise as skipper if the Swansea defender fails to prove his fitness in time.
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And with Wales just one match away from a semi-final – or 180 minutes away from the final – there is very much a feeling that this is Wales’ chance to do more than just match the hopes of a nation but go beyond them. “Ash’ll be fine. He’s a bit bruised and sore, but Ash’ll be OK”. It wasn’t dislocated, although knowing Ash he would try and play if it was.
