Former Nottingham Forest defender Chris Gunter has backed Brennan Johnson to lead his nation to "really good times" in the future, despite the forward missing Wales' most recent games through injury.
The 21-year-old has been in fantastic form this season for Steve Cooper's side with the Nottingham-born forward having scored eight Premier League goals in 28 appearances during the current campaign. He scored again on Saturday in the Reds' 1-1 draw against Wolves.
However, Johnson suffered a groin problem during Forest's defeat at Tottenham last month which led to him pulling out of the Wales squad for their international fixtures last month.
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This led to Wales boss Rob Page expressing his disappointment about the way Johnson's injury was handled and regretted not fighting to have him report to camp for an assessment.
But former Wales international Gunter, who also made over 100 appearances for Forest during a three-year spell, has backed Johnson to be a future star for his country.
He told BBC Sport: "From a Welsh point of view he is a huge part of it. I know the fans love him. he is such a good player we are fortunate he is ours and we will see him in the shirt for many, many years to come and will bring some really good times."
"Unfortunately Brennan could not come away and he is a really big player for us, so it was obviously a blow when he was not there.
"But from playing with Brennan for a number of years I know how committed and passionate he is for our country. That is probably the first camp he has missed since he has been involved.
"I understand bits of stuff have come out in the media. But certainly for us, when we were away and for Brennan himself, his commitment to Wales is something we don't need to worry about.
"I was pleased to see him score on the weekend and carry on his good form because he is such a big player for us."
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