Allen named in Wales squad despite injury

Liverpool midfielder Joe Allen was on Wednesday named in the Wales squad for the forthcoming World Cup qualifiers against Scotland and Croatia, despite requiring surgery on a shoulder injury. With Liverpool yet to announce when Allen will go under the knife, Wales manager Chris Coleman included the 22-year-old in his squad for the Group A double-header. "(Liverpool manager) Brendan Rodgers commented that at some stage he will have to have surgery, but at no time have we been told he's not available," Coleman said. "If that was the case, we wouldn't pick Joe. I totally respect Brendan Rodgers and Liverpool Football Club and I think we'll always try to work with the club because they aren't our players and we're only borrowing them. "But we've not been told anything so at the minute he's very much in the squad." Coleman also called up in-form Tottenham Hotspur winger Gareth Bale, who has scored 11 goals in his last 10 games, but Celtic full-back Adam Matthews misses out with a hamstring injury. Wales tackle Scotland at Hampden Park in Glasgow on March 22 before entertaining Croatia at Swansea's Liberty Stadium on March 26. Wales sit second-bottom in Group A after four matches, seven points below the qualifying berths. Wales squad: Goalkeepers: Glyn Myhill (West Bromwich Albion/ENG), Lewis Price (Crystal Palace/ENG), Owain Fon Williams (Tranmere Rovers/ENG) Defenders: Ben Davies (Swansea City), James Collins (West Ham United/ENG), Chris Gunter (Reading/ENG), Joel Lynch (Huddersfield Town/ENG), Ashley Richards (Swansea City), Sam Ricketts (Bolton Wanderers/ENG), Ashley Williams (Swansea City) Midfielders: Joe Allen (Liverpool/ENG), Jack Collison (West Ham United/ENG), Andy King (Leicester City/ENG), Joe Ledley (Celtic/SCO), Aaron Ramsey (Arsenal/ENG), David Vaughan (Sunderland/ENG), Jonathan Williams (Crystal Palace/ENG) Forwards: Gareth Bale (Tottenham Hotspur/ENG), Craig Bellamy (Cardiff City), Simon Church (Reading/ENG), Steve Morison (Leeds United/ENG), Hal Robson-Kanu (Reading/ENG), Sam Vokes (Burnley/ENG) From: AFP