Koumas calls time on Wales career

Wales attacking midfielder Jason Koumas on Sunday announced his retirement from international football with immediate effect.

“Jason spoke to Wales manager John Toshack to confirm that he would not have been available for Wednesday’s international with Russia due to a hamstring injury,” read a statement on the Football Association of Wales (FAW) website.

“He has decided, however, that he wishes to retire from international football with immediate effect.

“Manager John Toshack has wished Jason well and thanked him for his past services to the team. He went on to wish him well for the future at Wigan Athletic.”

Koumas, a talented 29-year-old playmaker, made his Wales debut in 2001 and went on to make 34 international appearances, scoring 10 goals.

The Wrexham-born star has had an at times fractious relationship with the Welsh set-up, frequently ruling himself unavailable for matches, and has played in less than half of the 75 Wales internationals since he made his debut.

He was reported to be considering his international future after pulling out of a 2-0 friendly defeat to Germany in April, forcing the FAW to issue a statement confirming his commitment to the Wales team.

Wales are fourth in World Cup qualifying Group Four, 10 points behind leaders Germany with three games to play and with only a mathematical chance of overhauling second-placed Russia to qualify for the play-offs.