Wes Burns thanks Bellamy after two-year road back to Wales
Wes Burns waited two years to rejoin Wales. When he did, he pulled Craig Bellamy aside to say thank you.
The 31-year-old Cardiff-born winger is back in the national squad for the first time since 2024. He told Bellamy his support during a long knee injury had been massive, according to an interview with BBC.
Burns tore his anterior cruciate ligament, the key stabilising band in the knee, during Ipswich Town's defeat at Liverpool in January 2025. He was out for almost a year. He returned to club football 11 months later.
Rehabilitation is lonely work. Burns said Bellamy rang him every month, sometimes every couple of weeks, just to check in. That contact mattered.
Bellamy knew what it felt like. He suffered a similar knee injury as a young player. Burns said that shared experience made the calls hit harder.
Wales need that kind of lift. Their bid to reach the 2026 World Cup through the play-offs failed. They then started their Nations League campaign, UEFA's ranked competition for national teams, with a 1-0 defeat in Portugal.
Burns was an unused substitute in Lisbon. He did not get on the pitch. But the recall itself closed a two-year gap.
Wales play Denmark in Copenhagen in their second tie. Bellamy named a 28-player squad for these opening matches in League A, the competition's top tier, according to the FAW.
At club level, Burns has had a strange 12 months. He helped Ipswich bounce straight back to the Premier League in the 2025-26 season. Then he left to join Leicester City, dropping two divisions in the process.
Leicester are managed by former Swansea City boss Russell Martin. They sat 13th in League One with two wins from their first seven games at the time of the Wales camp.
What makes this stand out is the tone. Burns said his Wales career feels better the second time around. After 11 months out, simply being in the room counts. A manager who kept calling counts for more.
