Wales in possible World Cup blow as 100-cap star undergoes second surgery

Tottenham defender Ben Davies is a doubt for this summer’s World Cup after undergoing a second operation on a broken ankle.

The 100-cap Wales international was carried off on a stretcher in the first half of last weekend’s 2-1 defeat against West Ham.

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Davies has now undergone further surgery that has put his participation at the World Cup in jeopardy, should Wales qualify.

Huge miss

Craig Bellamy’s side must come through two World Cup play-off matches in March to book their ticket to North America but they may have to do so without the 32-year-old.

Wales face Bosnia-Herzegovina in a World Cup play-off semi-final in Cardiff on March 26 with the winners facing Northern Ireland or Italy at home in the final five days later.

The news will come as a huge blow to Bellamy who recently described the Spurs star as his ‘best player’.

The injury could also have implications for his Tottenham career with Davies out of contract at the end of the season.

The full-back has spent the last 12 years in north London having clocked up a whopping 448 games.

His future has been further called into question in recent hours with Tottenham in talks with Liverpool to sign left-back Andy Robertson.

The Scotland captain is reportedly keen on a move to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium which could spell the end of Davies’ time at the club.

Tottenham’s injury pile-up

Davies is among a lengthy list of absentees at Tottenham with boss Thomas Frank in the midst of an injury crisis.

The Wales star joined Lucas Bergvall on the sidelines after the Swede was ruled out for up to three months with an ankle injury sustained in the midweek victory over Borussia Dortmund.

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Speaking at his press conference ahead of Saturday’s trip to Burnley, Frank told reporters: “I would say it’s fair to say that we don’t have that many players.

“The players we have in our squad, we need to keep to have enough players to perform with.

“In the Dortmund game, when we had not many available players, it’s difficult to change the game when you need it or to keep the freshness up.”

Rodrigo Bentancur, Mohammed Kudus, Dejan Kulusevski and James Maddison all remain in the treatment room as long-term absentees.

However, Frank was able to welcome back fit again Yves Bissouma for the defeat against West Ham and he could feature again against Burnley.

The midfielder was expected to leave the club in the January window however Frank has made it clear that Bissouma would be going nowhere this month.

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“Bissouma has a great top ceiling,” Frank added. “I think his qualities we can all see, on the ball, really want the ball, constantly seeking it, looking forward, driving forward. Very good technical abilities. Physical stature.

“He’s a strong player, so I agree. The best players, they can consistently perform, day in, day out, years over years. So that’s what he needs to find.

“He’s a Tottenham player. The only thing we’re focussing on is he’s available for Burnley on Saturday.”