Rob Page says Brennan Johnson's outing for Nottingham Forest against Newcastle United left him unfit to feature for Wales during the current international break.
The 21-year-old sustained a groin injury during Forest's Premier League clash with Tottenham Hotspur earlier this month and was said to be a doubt for Wales' Euro 2024 qualifiers with Croatia and Latvia.
However, he played the entirety of his side's 2-1 defeat to Newcastle United just six days after the clash with Spurs and subsequently failed to link up with Wales having struggled to fully shake off the injury after featuring for Steve Cooper's side.
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Johnson did not travel with his Wales team-mates to Split for their opening Euro qualifier with Croatia on Saturday night, and boss Page was unable to hide his frustrations with Forest for their handling of the situation.
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"We were aware of something last week and then he went and played 90 minutes on the Friday and wasn't available to meet up on the Sunday," explained Page.
"First and foremost I feel for Brennan. He wants to play international football like everybody else. As we know, playing for your country is something very special, it shouldn't be taken for granted, by anyone.
"Everybody who has got a responsibility for Brennan should respect that and help him in any way they can. They (Forest) know the ins and outs of how Brennan is, better than myself, they work with him day in day out. Ultimately it's about the player's welfare. In playing 90 minutes on Friday, it has obviously put him out of contention for us.
"Like I said, everybody's responsible for him. It's very special to be in that changing room and play for your country. You shouldn't take that for granted. The people responsible for him shouldn't take that for granted and should appreciate and respect that as well.
“Where I should have been a little bit stronger is with getting him through the door on Sunday to assess him. It's been frustrating, but I've got to pick a team now and focus on other players."
When asked if Johnson would miss Tuesday's clash with Latvia at Cardiff City Stadium, the Wales head coach responded: "Yes, as far as I'm concerned he's out of the camp completely."
The attacker's absence serves as a real blow for the Red Dragons who are already without goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey and defender Ben Davies for the contest with Croatia.
Nevertheless, having seen the likes of Gareth Bale, Joe Allen, Chris Gunter and Jonny Williams retire following the World Cup in Qatar, Page says the younger members of his heavily-altered 24-man squad now have a greater chance to prove their worth.
"You know my thoughts on Brennan, I think he's arguably one of the best counter attacking centre-forwards in Premier League football at this moment in time, but we haven't got him, so we can't dwell on who we could have had available," added Page.
"It gives others an opportunity and we have got a squad of players now that are pushing for places in the starting XI."
Meanwhile, Luka Modric says Wales must be focused on operating as a team following the retirement of talisman Gareth Bale.
Modric played alongside Bale with Tottenham Hotspur and Real Madrid and also lined up against the Cardiff-born star at international level, although Page's side are without the 33-year-old for their European qualifying campaign following his retirement.
“Of course it is a blow to the Welsh team not having Gareth Bale anymore," said Modric. “Every individual will need to give more, they can’t rely on Gareth doing something on his own.
“It is a question for Gareth if he retired too early, he knows what is best for him, I’m sure he’s proud of what he achieved. Wales will have to play more as a team, now they do not have Gareth.”
Boss Zlatko Dalic cited Wales' counter attacking threats as a concern for his side and admitted he expects Page's troops to show plenty of ambition at Stadion Poljud.
"It's obvious it's a different team than from the World Cup, four players retired, including Gareth Bale," said the Croatia manager.
"As Luka said, I expect them to play more as a team, they still have good players such as (Daniel) James and (Aaron) Ramsey. They have a lot of quality and they can be dangerous on the counter attack.
"I expect them to show themselves as an ambitious team so I expect a tough game."
Kick-off in Split is at 7:45pm on Saturday.
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