Wales captain Bellamy out of Euro qualifiers

Wales captain Craig Bellamy will miss his country’s Euro 2012 qualifying matches against Bulgaria and Switzerland next month, caretaker boss Brian Flynn said on Wednesday.

Bellamy, currently on loan at Cardiff City from English Premier League side Manchester City, has been ruled out for three weeks with a knee problem that has hampered the striker throughout his career.

“Craig will be unavailable for the two matches next week” Flynn told BBC Sport Wales.

“I had a really long, excellent conversation with Cardiff manager Dave Jones just over 10 days ago… and we made the decision that Craig will not be available due to his fitness.

“He has an ongoing knee problem and hasn’t played for the last five games.

“Obviously we’ve been aware of that and unfortunately for Craig and for us he won’t be able to put on a red shirt next week.

“It’s a big disappointment for me as caretaker manager. I wanted Craig in the team, but these things happen.”

Wales lost their opening Group G game against Montenegro and face Bulgaria at the Cardiff City Stadium on October 8, followed by Switzerland in Basel four days later.

The defeat by Montenegro sealed the end of John Toshack’s reign as Wales manager and led to his replacement, on a caretaker basis, by Wales Under-21 coach Flynn.