Roberts and Davies return from injury for Wales

Connor Roberts and Ben DaviesImage source, Getty Images
Image caption,

Connor Roberts (left) and Ben Davies have 163 Wales caps between them

ByDafydd Pritchard
BBC Sport Wales
  • Published

Captain Ben Davies has returned from a serious ankle injury to be included in Wales' squad for friendly matches against Ghana and Romania, while Connor Roberts could make his first competitive appearance for a year.

Tottenham Hotspur defender Davies, who turned 33 last month, has not played since sustaining the injury, which required surgery, while playing for his club in January.

Burnley right-back Roberts has been absent since injuring himself during Wales' World Cup qualifying defeat by Belgium in June 2025.

The 30-year-old was forced off with a groin injury in Brussels, before damaging his Achilles after returning to Burnley, ruling him out of the entire 2025-26 season.

Having featured for the Clarets' Under-21s earlier this month, Roberts returned to the first-team matchday squad for the first time this campaign on Sunday as he was an unused substitute for the Premier League draw with fellow relegated side Wolves.

There is also a return from injury for centre-back Chris Mepham, but midfielders Jordan James and Rubin Colwill as well as forwards Liam Cullen and Mark Harris miss out with minor injuries.

Wales host Ghana, one of England's World Cup group opponents, at Cardiff City Stadium on Tuesday, 2 June, before facing Romania in Bucharest the following Saturday.

Wales squad

Goalkeepers: Karl Darlow (Leeds United), Danny Ward (Wrexham), Tom King (Everton).

Defenders: Jay DaSilva (Coventry City), Rhys Norrington-Davies (Queens Park Rangers - on loan from Sheffield United), Ben Davies (Tottenham Hotspur), Dylan Lawlor (Cardiff City), Ben Cabango (Swansea City), Joe Rodon (Leeds United), Chris Mepham (West Bromwich Albion), Neco Williams (Nottingham Forest),Ronan Kpakio (Cardiff City), Connor Roberts (Burnley).

Midfielders: Ethan Ampadu (Leeds United), Josh Sheehan (Bolton Wanderers), Joel Colwill (Cardiff City), Kai Andrews (Hibernian - on loan from Coventry City), Harry Wilson (Fulham), Sorba Thomas (Stoke City), Lewis Koumas (Hull City - on loan from Liverpool), David Brooks (Bournemouth).

Forwards: Nathan Broadhead (Wrexham) Brennan Johnson (Crystal Palace), Kieffer Moore (Wrexham) Dan James (Leeds United), Isaak Davies (Cardiff City).

Hagi returns for Romania reunion

Gheorghe Hagi heads the ball as Paul Bodin looks onImage source, Getty Images
Image caption,

Gheorghe Hagi (in yellow) opened the scoring in Cardiff in 1993, while Paul Bodin (right) missed a crucial penalty

Like Wales, Romania missed out on World Cup qualification after losing their play-off semi-final in March.

The match in Bucharest will be the first meeting between the teams since 1993, when Wales lost at home to Romania to agonisingly miss out on the 1994 World Cup.

This will also be a first home match in charge for the great Gheorghe Hagi, the former Barcelona and Real Madrid playmaker who scored in Cardiff 33 years ago.

Hagi was appointed Romania's manager for the second time in April, taking over from Mircea Lucescu, who died at the age of 80 following a heart attack.

Ghana, meanwhile, will be facing Wales for the first time and have Manchester City's Antoine Semenyo in their squad.

Former Manchester United assistant manager Carlos Queiroz was appointed Ghana's head coach last month.

The 73-year-old Portuguese has replaced Otto Addo, who was sacked in March after friendly defeats by Germany and Austria.

The Black Stars, who are in the same World Cup group as England, Croatia and Panama, also failed to qualify for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations under Addo.

The matches against Ghana and Romania will serve as preparation for Wales' return to the top flight of the Nations League in September, where they have been drawn with Portugal, Norway and Denmark.