Bale issue ´looks like cramp´, says Giggs after physical Croatia test

Ryan Giggs was optimistic Wales superstar Gareth Bale had only suffered from cramp as he hobbled out of a combative clash with Croatia on Sunday.

Bale scored Wales’ equaliser in Cardiff as they drew 1-1 with Group E leaders Croatia in Euro 2020 qualifying, although the result leaves Giggs’ men with plenty of work to do.

The Real Madrid winger was one of three Wales players who appeared to take a knock, with Dan James recovering from an early blow, Ethan Ampadu later substituted off, and Bale then limping badly after indicating a calf issue.

Giggs assured both James and Ampadu were fine, while he was hopeful on Bale’s status.

“Gareth’s just got a bit of cramp towards the end,” he told Sky Sports. “He didn’t want to come off, though.

“It was a fantastic performance from Gareth, it was just a shame that he did get that – it was about 10 minutes really at the end, so we were down one player really.

“But it looks like it’s just cramp.”

The James and Ampadu incidents were both rugged aerial challenges that earned yellow cards, while Luka Modric injured himself while hacking at Harry Wilson.

FULL-TIME | 1-1 #WALCRO

It’s all over and it finishes in a draw between Cymru and Croatia. #TogetherStronger pic.twitter.com/osMCr9bMRH

— Wales (@Cymru) October 13, 2019

Giggs cut a frustrated figure on the sidelines but insisted his issue was with Croatia slowing Wales’ attacks rather than with the strength of the tackles.

Asked if he was upset by Croatia’s approach, the coach replied: “Yeah, a little bit. But they’re smart players.

“It’s not about looking for players to get booked – they’re just stopping our flow, which they’re good at. It’s something we need to get better at.

“They’re smart. Good players and smart, as well. It was more the stopping of the flow of us counter-attacking that I was complaining about really. It’s a physical game and we’ve come through it well.”

Wales must now win their remaining two matches – against Azerbaijan and Hungary – and hope Slovakia drop points, but Giggs is happy with the permutations.

“We’re in it. After these two games [including a draw in Slovakia], I wanted to be in it,” he said. “We’ve got two games which won’t be easy against two tough teams.

“We’ll look forward to those games – it’s exciting. Get it down to that second game with Hungary here.”

James added: “[Croatia] have shown what a great team they are, top of the group. They came here and I know we lost in the summer but it was about bouncing back from that. Today, we got a good result.”