Ledley Set To Miss Euro Start, But Allen Will Be There

From Graham Thomas in Dinard

Joe Ledley is set to miss out when Wales start their Euro 2016 finals campaign against Slovakia on Saturday.

The Crystal Palace midfielder has made a remarkable recovery after suffering a hairline fracture to his left leg on May 7, but manager Chris Coleman is unlikely to risk him for the match in Bordeaux.

Both Ledley and striker Hal Robson-Kanu – who has struggled lately with an Achilles tendon problem – appear more certain of places on the bench, although Joe Allen has shaken off a knee injury and is set to start.

Coleman admitted it would be “reckless” to start with all three players and added: “I’m not giving anything away to say we can’t start with all three.

“I think it is fair to say you can’t really see Joe playing 90 minutes. But can he play a part? Yes. At the minute, he can.

“He is integrated with the rest of the team and done what they have done in training. He could play a part, and so could both Joe Allan and Hal – unless there is a really bad reaction between now and the weekend.”

Ledley’s absence from the starting line-up is likely to mean a place in midfield for Leicester City’s Premier League title winner Andy King, while Sam Vokes of Burnley will be the alternative to Robson-Kanu up front.

Allen, though, appears ready to start with Coleman keen to stress the Liverpool player’s significance in terms of creating the passing tempo that Wales will seek against the Slovakians.

“You would have to say Joe is further down the line in terms of being ready to start a game. And he is integral to how we want to play. He plays in that pivot role for us.”

Coleman appears in relaxed mood ahead of the most-watched match of his managerial career and has been spreading that feeling within the squad.

Tucked away in northern Brittany, away from the major French cities in sleepy Dinard, the players have been given the kind of freedoms they would not have enjoyed had they chosen the other training base on offer near Paris.

He added: “I don’t want them locked up. I know what our group are like and locking them up is not a good idea.

“For teams that have been in tournament football every time, it’s different for them. For us, it’s different. Our guys, if they want to go out and have a walk, have a coffee to escape the hotel environment, we haven’t got a problem with that.

“They are not going to be out of an evening here, there and everywhere. There are times where they know where they need to be. But it’s not like a lockdown every day. It’s not like a prison camp.”

If the Wales players do opt to go off-camp, then they must inform the management of their whereabouts in order to conform with tournament rules over drug-testing.

Coleman added: “For doping, if a player leaves the hotel, we need to tell the UEFA people where they are within one hour.

“Because if we can’t find the players and the doping testers turn up, it’s a problem. That’s every player that’s with us. They need to know where they are at all times.”