Nottingham Forest star Neco Williams suffered a cruel end to his World Cup as Jermaine Jenas praised the 21-year-old. Wales were beaten by England to exit the competition after just three games in Qatar.
On 35 minutes, Williams’ tournament ended. He fell to the turf for the second time after earlier taking the full force of a Marcus Rashford strike to the top of his head.
The Forest man tried to run it off but ultimately he was unable to continue. Williams was withdrawn after seemingly having a bit of an argument with the medical staff.
Jenas was extremely sympathetic to the 21-year-old. He praised his commitment to the cause at this tournament but conceded the Wales medical staff made the right call regarding the Forest man.
The ex-Forest star said live on BBC One: “The player will always want to stay on and I think the medical staff have to take it out of their hands.
“I feel for him. He’s given everything. To be fair, he always does, not just for his country but for Nottingham Forest too.”
Williams will now fly back to Wales with his teammates. Forest returned to training today but the youngster along with Brennan Johnson and Wayne Hennessey will now be given a period of rest.
Williams praised by Jenas
It was a seriously cruel blow for the Forest man. He was visibly upset when he departed the field and this might take some getting over for the Reds defender.
Still, Williams has shown tremendous courage at this tournament. He discovered that a relative had passed prior to Wales’ opening game against the USA and to get through that he deserved immense credit.
It was impossible for him to stay on against England. The medical team made the right call, even if Williams was visibly devastated to come off the field in such a huge World Cup fixture.
Now, he will look forward to the future. He thoroughly deserves a period of rest and then he will hope to aid Forest in their quest to survive this season.