David Brooks’ chances of making it on the plane to Euro 2020 and featuring in his first major tournament this summer were slim.
The Bournemouth winger, who made his international debut three years ago, suffered ankle ligament damage in a pre-season friendly against Brentford last July, which saw him miss out on the second half of Wales’ Euro 2020 qualifying campaign.
It served as a huge blow to Ryan Giggs’ hopes of steering Wales to their second major tournament in four years, especially after his side had only taken three points from their first three matches.
The 12-capped international returned to training in March and provided Bournemouth’s Premier League survival bid with a big boost, although it looked as though he would miss out on Euro 2020, which was set to get under way this week.
With the clock ticking down on Wales’ opener against Switzerland, Brooks faced a race against time and his lack of match fitness was a real concern among Welsh fans until the coronavirus pandemic brought the sporting world to a grinding halt.
And UEFA subsequently made the decision to push the tournament back a year until 2021 to allow the European leagues to be completed.
The postponement will now give the midfielder plenty of time to rekindle the form that saw him register seven goals and five assists in 30 Premier League games last season.
The quality of the 22-year-old’s performances throughout his first campaign in the top flight impressed the likes of Manchester United and Tottenham, who are among some of the clubs interested in landing his services.
There’s no doubting his talent, which he has displayed for both club and country, but Wales fans will be hoping that any decision to make a move away from the Vitality Stadium is given careful consideration.
Giggs has a plethora of wide-men available at his disposal and will need the likes of Brooks, Dan James, Rabbi Matondo and Harry Wilson to be playing regularly for their clubs between now and next summer.
Brooks, who hasn’t featured for Bournemouth this season, is expected to make his return to Premier League action later this month to aid Eddie Howe’s men in their tough run-in.
His creativity and ability to get past defenders has been a big miss for the relegation-threatened Cherries this term.
But he will make a welcomed return from his lengthy lay-off for their nine remaining fixtures, while another full season under his belt next term will do him the world of good ahead of Euro 2020.
Brooks has already shown that he has the capabilities of becoming a world-class player and, if he is able to rediscover the form that he displayed before his injury troubles, he will be crucial to Wales’ hopes of replicating their heroics in France four years ago.
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