Injured Welsh striker Simon Church has revealed that the team can prove doubters wrong again after being written off due to the injury to star man Gareth Bale.

Real Madrid forward Bale dealt Wales a huge blow earlier in the week after he was ruled out of their final two World Cup qualifiers against Georgia and the Republic of Ireland with a calf strain.

Wales are second in Group D and need at least four points from the aforementioned two games to keep their Russia 2018 hopes alive but the loss of Bale to injury has dampened expectations.

Speaking about the crucial games ahead, Church said:

“A lot of people will write us off now, but we’re used to that.”

“Time and again we’ve proved people wrong, so it’s a great opportunity to do that again.

“We’ve had a lot of injuries in the past campaign where someone has had to come in and fill a role and they have done.” he added.

Wales face Georgia in Tblisi on Friday, October 6 before facing rivals Republic of Ireland in Cardiff three days later but worryingly for the team, they have not won a qualifier without Bale since 2013 against Macedonia with Church scoring the winner. In addition,  their last qualifying victory away from home was in 2009 against Azerbaijan.

Speaking further, Church pointed out that the loss of Bale to injury is a big blow. He said:

“It’s a big blow [Bale’s injury], everyone knows what he can do… but I’m sure that’ll create a good opportunity for someone to come in.”

“Ben Woodburn has proved he can do that, there’s a lot of players have played in that position before.

“We always knew we had quality in the team, other players right through the spine.

“There’s Joe Allen, Aaron Ramsey, Gareth – we’ve got a lot of Premier League experience.

“Even on the bench and in reserve we’ve got players playing at a very good level.

“We’ve got a good squad and the togetherness is why we’ve achieved so much.” he concluded.

 

28-year old Church is presently recovering from a long-term hip trouble and is a free agent after leaving Dutch side Roda JC. He has already turned down an offer from Scottish Premier League (SPL) side Hibernian.