Rob Page names 26-man Wales squad for 2022 World Cup in Qatar

There were concerns about the former Tottenham and Real Madrid man's fitness, but Wales' talisman has unsurprisingly been selected.

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Joining Bale on the plane is Tottenham defender Ben Davies and Nice midfielder Aaron Ramsey, who have been stalwarts in Wales' rise in recent years. The trio were part of their squads at Euro 2016 and Euro 2020.

Nottingham Forest duo Brennan Johnson and Neco Williams make the cut, as do Bournemouth pair Chris Mepham and Kieffer Moore.

Chelsea's Ethan Ampadu, who's on loan at Serie A club Spezia, Leeds winger Daniel James and his loan teammate at Fulham Harry Wilson have also been selected.

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There's a place in Page's 26 for Luton centre-back Tom Lockyer but Sheffield United's Rhys Norrington-Davies doesn't make it.

Chris Gunter, who is Wales' record appearance holder with 109 caps, also makes it into Page's squad.

Wales begin their campaign in Qatar against the USA on November 21. They then take on Iran on November 25 and then rivals England on November 29.

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On his selections, Page said: "I don't think I've surprised many Wales supporters, I think they could've second guessed what the squad is going to be.

"The difficulty was always with leaving players out, uncomfortable conversations. Rhys Norrington-Davies was taken out of my control with the level of injury that he had, which is a shame for him because he was playing great football.

"Tyler [Roberts] picked up a knock and that decision was made for me. We couldn't carry too many players going into the tournament.

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"I am prepared to take that gamble with Joe Allen. What he's done, the experience he's got in that tournament environment and I'm prepared to throw everything at him to get him fit for that first game.

"And then there's Rabbi Matondo, whose been part of the squad in recent months, he doesn't make the 26.

"It's hard because they're great lads, who I love working with but I have to strip the emotion away from it and pick a squad that I think is going to be effective at the World Cup."