Wales will be without injured Ethan Ampadu for opening World Cup qualifiers

Wales will be without injured Leeds captain Ethan Ampadu for the start of their World Cup qualifying campaign.

Ampadu damaged a knee in training earlier this week and scans have now revealed the influential 24-year-old defender or midfielder has suffered a cartilage injury.

Sky Bet Championship leaders Leeds have decided against surgery for now but boss Daniel Farke says Ampadu will be out for “four to six weeks”, thereby ruling him out of Wales’ opening World Cup qualifiers at home to Kazakhstan on March 22 and in North Macedonia three days later.

‘Complicated’

“Bit complicated situation,” Farke said at a press conference previewing Leeds’ Championship home game with West Brom on Saturday.

“A surgery would have meant he was out for the season because if you do a surgery, it would be a few months.

“We have, after more consultations, decided to try the conservative route. There’s a good chance if rehab works properly it will be successful but it still means he’ll be out for four to six weeks.

“We won’t see him back in team training before the international break.

“Fingers crossed we’ll at least have him available for the run in.

“There’s still a chance he will still need the surgery. Fingers crossed, 50-50 chance to have him back for the run-in.”

10 weeks out

It is the second significant knee injury Ampadu has suffered this season.

The 54-times capped international was injured in September and spent 10 weeks out, missing four of Wales’ six Nations League games.

Ampadu’s absence will come as a hammer blow to Wales boss Craig Bellamy, who is already set to be without Harry Wilson and Wes Burns through injury next month.

Reflecting on losing Ampadu in the autumn, Bellamy said: “Huge player. I would have said that is one area where you don’t want an injury.

“I literally lost about three nights of sleep when he got injured. Anyone’s going to miss him.”