Boss says Joe Allen will be able to play at World Cup…

Boss says Joe Allen will be able to play at World Cup and why Swansea City should be so proud of what they've done

Russell Martin is fully confident that Joe Allen will feature for Wales during the World Cup.

The midfielder has been sidelined for two months after sustaining a hamstring injury during Swansea City's 3-0 triumph over Hull City in mid-September.

The Swansea boss recently admitted there were mistakes made during the early stages of Allen's recovery, although, despite his lack of game time, the 32-year-old will be on the plane to Qatar after being included in Rob Page's 26-man squad for the tournament.

"Joe will be available at some point," said Martin. "He'll have an involvement, I just don't know when because I'm not the physio and I'm not Joe. I know he's giving everything he possibly can.

"The fact he's going and is going to have an involvement in some of the games over there is an amazing achievement from where he was. Not many could have done that. It's testament to his professionalism and his mentality.

"He will impact it. How early will depend on what Rob sees in training and what the sports science and medical team with Wales see. I hope he can play as much as he possibly can because it'll be great for him, great for his country and great for us as well."

Allen will be joined in Qatar by Swansea team-mates Ben Cabango and Ollie Cooper - with the former earning a late call to Page's standby list following Fulham star Luke Harris' withdrawal due to personal reasons.

Discussing Cooper's addition to the travelling Welsh party, Swans boss Martin commented: "I'm really pleased for him. He's gone from being a really unhappy boy to being a happy lad.

"He's had a big smile on his face. He's a brilliant human being and we love working with Ollie. I really hope, although we don't want anyone to get injured, he has a chance to impact the squad at some point.

"I've got no doubt he'll make a brilliant impression, the way he conducts himself. Whatever happens it'll be a really positive thing for him and the national team."

The trio of Swans stars will join the club's academy graduates Ben Davies, Joe Rodon, Connor Roberts and Daniel James in wearing the red of Wales on the biggest stage of world football this month.

Cabango and Cooper both featured as the Swans signed off for the World Cup break with a dominant performance in a 0-0 draw at Huddersfield Town. Speaking after the contest in west Yorkshire, Martin revealed Wales assistant boss Alan Knill was in attendance to watch the Welsh duo in action - with Sorba Thomas featuring for the Terriers.

And Martin admitted Swansea City should take immense pride for developing a glut of stars for the national side in recent years.

"I saw Alan Knill in the stand today and I think he'll be really impressed with Ben's performance. He's come a long way and has improved so much," revealed Martin. "If you look at the amount of Swansea academy graduates in the national team squad and in the team who are regular starters, it's incredible really.

"The club and the academy should be praised highly for that and the amount of work they've done with those players. I feel like we've got our own batch of those coming through and it's up to us to help develop those.

"Hopefully they can show the same improvement and willingness to learn that Ollie and Ben have over the last year and a bit, and if they do we'll be more than happy."

Wales face the United States of America in their first group stage match on Monday, November 21 before facing Iran four days later. They round off Group B with a clash against England on November 29.

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