WALES manager Rob Page has rubbished suggestions that a personal ‘history’ with Tom Lawrence is keeping the Rangers star out of his plans.
But the national team’s boss certainly hasn’t given the Ibrox hero much hope of a World Cup spot.
Lawrence has enjoyed an excellent start to life in Glasgow after his free transfer from Derby County in the summer.
The 28-year old quickly established himself as a key man under Giovanni van Bronckhorst, firing three goals in nine games so far.
He’s been missing in recent weeks, however, after sustaining a knee injury against Ross County, with his absence felt as the Gers fell to 4-0 defeats against Celtic and Ajax.
That injury meant he would have been unavailable for Wales’ upcoming Nations League matches, but he wouldn’t have been a likely selection anyway.
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It’s been over a year since Lawrence was selected for Wales duty, and he was left out of the squad for the delayed European Championships in June 2021.
The attacker’s then-boss Wayne Rooney claimed in April that Lawrence was being ignored by Page due to a “bit of history” between the pair, with the ex-England star telling Page to “get over” the situation and pick him.
However, there has been no change since with Lawrence still going unselected.
Page, who has just signed a new four-year deal as Wales boss, has broken his silence on the matter and insisted there are no personal grievances with the Gers star.
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However, he appeared to pour cold water on any hopes Lawrence might have of making the World Cup squad for Wales’ first tilt at the grandest stage in 64 years.
Page said: “There’s no history between me and Tom.
“Understandably he was disappointed that I didn’t take him to the Euros, I would have been disappointed as a player as well.
“I think he deserved his move to Rangers off the back of his performances at Derby and he’s a good player.
“But Brennan Johnson and Rubin Colwill have come into the squad, and we’ve got youngsters like Luke Harris that people are talking about.
“That’s just football.”
Wales qualified for Qatar 2022 after winning the play-off pathway that also contained Scotland.
They bet Ukraine 1-0 in Cardiff back in June after the Ukrainians had beaten Steve Clarke‘s side at Hampden just a few days before.
They’ll head to the finals to take on the United States, Iran and England in Group B.
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