| Is Ramsey fit enough for Wales? |
Aaron Ramsey made his long-awaited return from injury for Rangers in the Scottish Cup quarter-final at Dundee. Featuring for around 80 minutes in the 3-0 victory, did the ex-Juventus midfielder do enough to be named in Rob Page’s squad?
When Ramsey moved to Scotland in January, it was clearly for football reasons. After a torrid time at Juventus, the 31-year-old was desperate for regular game time to build his fitness especially with the FIFA World Cup on the horizon, and best online casinos are prepping their odds ahead..
Ramsey’s career stagnated at Juve. He had made just five appearances in all competitions this season for the Serie A side, playing only 97 minutes in the league. He was not part Massimiliano Allegri's long-term plans and had to leave.
But Rangers was never thought of. A return to Arsenal was mooted. Everton and Burnley was said to have shown interest in the Wales international.
"Obviously it's been challenging and I want to play," Ramsey admitted. "Throughout my career, I've played many games and the last couple of seasons have been a bit difficult at times. There's been a few hiccups, but that's the past now. no hard feelings that I left”.
Ramsey didn't quite get the sort ofbeginning he would have wanted. Yet to appear in the league, th 31-year-old started just once for his new club against Annan. He then suffered an injury that kept him away for a month.
But Ramsey put in an impressive shift against Dundee. Slotting on the right of Gio van Bronckhorst's attacking midfield three, he formed an intelligent partnership with James Tavernier, creating the space for the fullback to overlap time and time again - causing no end of problems for Dundee.
Around the 17-minute mark, Tavernier was able to play an exquisite threaded ball for Ramsey, whose short from an angle was stopped by Harry Sharp. He showed superb drive and ingenuity in his pockets of the pitch.
These qualities have never been in doubt, though. Blessed with exceptional technique, vision and movement, he could turn a game around in a matter of seconds.
He has forged a reputation on the world stage as a complete midfielder - a passer, a runner and a goalscorer as analysed by pokies online.
He said, "I'm delighted to get that amount of minutes under my belt again so hopefully I can build on this performance. It was important for us to be in the hat for the next round but, personally, I'm happy with the way things are going”.
Yet his fitness level is still in question. It is understood that the midfielder spent £30,000 of his own money in order to get fit again.
But with Rob Page expected to name his squad for the World Cup qualifying play-off this week, the inclusion of the 31-year-old could come as a surprise as he is yet to reach full fitness.
[ photo embedded from FAW Cymru ]