Simon Church, Jack Collison and Boaz Myhill on Aaron Ramsey's broken leg
NEWPORT’S Simon Church insists the Wales players are determined not to let the “massive blow” of losing Aaron Ramsey affect their Euro 2012 hopes.
Arsenal ace Ramsey could be out of the game for up to a year following his horror leg break at Stoke City on Saturday.
He is likely to miss at least three of Wales qualifiers in September and October this year but Church says his teammates will be working overtime to ensure they are still in contention when the 19-year-old does return.
“I haven’t spoken to him but it’s a massive blow to us because he’s such a great player and he will be missed,” said Reading striker Church.
“Everyone wishes him the quickest recovery possible.
“I was watching the game on TV and it was horrible but it’s just one of those things,” he added.
“It shouldn’t happen but it does and I’m sure he’ll get over it and get back as soon as he can.
“We’ll be pushing as hard as we can without him to make sure we’re in a good position when he does come back.”
For Church, tomorrow’s friendly against Sweden at Swansea’s Liberty Stadium is another chance to impress manager John Toshack after a fantastic campaign so far.
The striker scored his ninth goal of the season for the Royals on Saturday with a 25-yard screamer in the 5-0 demolition of Sheffield Wednesday and he will line up against Aston Villa in the quarter finals of the FA Cup this Sunday, having already scored against Liverpool this in the cup.
But first up are the Swedes and with no Craig Bellamy in the squad, Church is eager to add to his first international goal against Scotland in November.
“It’s going really well really well for me at the moment and hopefully that can continue,” he said.
“This past week has been fantastic – getting through to the FA Cup quarter finals and scoring at the weekend as well. I knew as soon as I hit it was going in.
“We’ve got a couple of friendlies coming up and it’s a chance to impress and show what we can do ahead of the qualifiers,” he added.
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