Injury keeps Bale out of Wales squad

Star Tottenham winger Gareth Bale has been left out of the Wales squad to compete for the Carling Nations Cup this month.

Wales manager Gary Speed confirmed a 28-man squad for the round-robin tournament, which will pit Wales against Scotland (May 25) and Northern Ireland (May 27) at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin.

The Welsh outfit opened their Cup account with a 3-0 loss to the Republic of Ireland – the fourth team in the tournament – in February.

Bale was absent from the squad due to ruptured ankle ligaments, while Bolton’s Sam Ricketts will miss due to his season-ending Achilles injury.

Norwich midfielder Andrew Crofts is another absentee for Speed’s side, due to miss with a dislocated thumb.

Celtic’s Joe Ledley was included in the team, despite carrying a hamstring problem.

Swansea winger David Cotterill earned a recall to the national side, with West Ham midfielder Jack Collison also returning to the fray for his country after recovering from a knee injury.

Wales squad: Wayne Hennessey (Wolverhampton), Boaz Myhill (West Bromwich Albion), Lewis Price (Crystal Palace), Darcy Blake (Cardiff City), Danny Collins (Stoke City), James Collins (Aston Villa), Neal Eardley (Blackpool), Danny Gabbidon (West Ham United), Chris Gunter (Nottingham Forest), Lewin Nyatanga (Bristol City), Neil Taylor (Swansea City), Ashley Williams (Swansea City), Joe Allen (Swansea City), Jack Collison (West Ham United), David Cotterill (Swansea City), David Edwards (Wolverhampton), Andy King (Leicester City), Joe Ledley (Celtic), Aaron Ramsey (Arsenal, captain), David Vaughan (Blackpool), Craig Bellamy (Cardiff City), Simon Church (Reading), Rob Earnshaw (Nottingham Forest), Ched Evans (Sheffield United), Freddie Eastwood (Coventry City), Steve Morison (Millwall), Hal Robson-Kanu (Reading), Sam Vokes (Wolverhampton).

On standby: Jason Brown (Cardiff City), Craig Morgan (Preston North End), Christian Ribeiro (Bristol City), Andy Dorman (Crystal Palace), Brian Stock (Doncaster), Jermaine Easter (Crystal Palace).