Daniel James has been ruled out of Wales’ double header against Turkey and Montenegro by Leeds boss Daniel Farke. James was named by new Wales manager Craig Bellamy in his first squad on Wednesday for the two upcoming Nations League fixtures.

Craig Bellamy has named Aaron Ramsey as captain of his first Wales squad but he doesn’t see it as any big deal. The former Arsenal, Rangers, Juventus and Nice star, now plying his trade at his home town team Cardiff City, won the last of his 84 caps in a friendly against South Korea on 7 September 2023, missing the end of the unsuccessful play-off campaign for the Euros this summer.

Leeds goalkeeper Karl Darlow has joined the Wales set-up by being named in Craig Bellamy’s first squad. Northampton-born Darlow – the grandson of former Wales international and 1958 World Cup squad member Ken Leek – turned down the chance earlier in his career to join the Dragons’ squad when choosing to focus on club football.

Craig Bellamy has completed his Wales backroom staff set-up with the addition of former England goalkeeping coach Martyn Margetson. The 52-year-old recently stood down from a similar position with England after eight years and being involved in over 100 matches.

Wales’ Nations League game away to Montenegro has been moved to Niksic after UEFA deemed the Podgorica National Stadium pitch unplayable. The September 9 fixture will take place at the 5,000-capacity City Stadium home of FK Sutjeska, although the attendance may be reduced to satisfy UEFA safety criteria.

The golden boot of 47-year-old Lee Trundle is still firing to deadly effect. Trundle scored on Monday as his latest club, Trefelin, beat Baglan Dragons 2-0 in the JD Cymru South to move up to second in the table. Charlie Corsby scored Trefelin’s second goal.

Bank Holiday Monday sees another round of matches in the JD Cymru Premier, capped by top-of-the-table Cardiff Met hosting Haverfordwest County in a battle between two of the unbeaten sides. While reigning champions The New Saints concentrate on European action the rest of the teams in the league are trying to build up a lead to put pressure on them when they return to domestic matters.

Cardiff City have put Welsh rivals Swansea City in the dock over another advertising hoarding collapse that injured Bluebirds striker Ollie Tanner. Bluebirds substitute Tanner was left needing treatment to his shin after the boards toppled forward when fans rushed forward to celebrate a Cardiff equaliser in their 1-1 draw at Swansea.

Callum Robinson left the Welsh derby with his head held high – rather than losing it as he did in this fixture two years ago. The Cardiff striker grabbed an equaliser in a typically explosive Dai-namite Welsh derby that ended 1-1 with Bluebirds boss Erol Bulut sent off and another potential hoarding horror just a day after the Crystal Palace ball-boy incident.

A dramatic Welsh derby began with a Liam Cullen strike before Callum Robinson’s equaliser meant the points were shared at the Swansea.com Stadium. The Bluebirds were given optimism as new signing from Manchester City Alex Robertson made his first start for his new club. As for the hosts, they were boosted by the return of veteran midfielder Joe Allen to the matchday squad, for the first time since April.

Swansea City will go into their derby day clash against Cardiff City, having edged a transfer tussle for players, 2-1, in the final countdown to the game. The Swans signed central defender Nelson Abbey on a season-long loan from Olympiakos.

Craig Bellamy has declared himself very happy with his back-room team, having brought in some trusted assistants to take Wales forward. The new Wales manager has drafted in Brighton first team coach Andrew Crofts, who will continue to work primarily for the Premier League club.

The New Saints have taken a commanding step towards the Europa Conference League group stages with a stunning 3-0 win over FK Panevėžys in Lithuania. Despite key absences, TNS now return to Park Hall poised to become the first Cymru Premier team to reach the group stage of a European competition.

Luke Williams has only been Swansea City’s head coach for seven months, but he reckons he knows the recipe for derby success against Cardiff City. El Taffico has it’s own Welsh flavour – laverbread simmered in Brains Bitter – and Williams believes he got a taste for it immediately back in March.

Steve Cooper made a steady, rather than spectacular start to his new life as Leicester City manager, but his influence was clear. The only Welsh manager operating in the Premier League began the season with a 1-1 draw at home to Tottenham, thanks to a goal from Jamie Vardy.

New Cardiff City signing Jesper Daland is keen to be thrown straight into the heat of a Welsh derby against Swansea City on Sunday. The Norwegian defender expects to figure for the Bluebirds, having moved from Belgian club Cercle Brugge for a fee understood to be around £3.5m.

Cardiff City are set to sign Manchester United defender Will Fish on a permanent transfer, according to reports in Manchester. The 21-year-old – who made one Premier League appearance for United in the 2020/21 season and has been out on loan in Scotland with Hibernian – is seen by the Bluebirds as a replacement for Luton Town-bound £10m-rated Mark McGuinness.

Luke Williams believes Swansea City striker Zan Vipotnik is fully energised to take on Cardiff City in the Welsh derby this weekend after scoring his first goal for his new club. Vipotnik came off the bench to grab one of Swansea’s three goals in their empathic 3-0 victory over Preston at the weekend.

You know it’s not been a great weekend for a club when the headline screaming out from Sky Sports’ website says: “Is this the worst goalkeeper mistake you have ever seen!?” The answer, of course, depends very much on the length of your memory. If you happen to be under 30, then Ethan Horvath’s horrible error that led to Cardiff City conceding the opener in their 5-0 defeat Burnley may well be top of the pile.

Lawrence Vigouroux believes he has settled in well as the new man between the sticks for Swansea City. The 30-year-old goalkeeper, who joined from Burnley earlier in the summer, has already started in the two competitive matches against Middlesbrough and Gillingham and is preparing for his first home league game against Preston North End on Saturday.