Moldova v Wales: Neil Taylor 'back to normal' after leg-break ban - James Chester
- Published
Wales defender Neil Taylor was sent off for his tackle on Republic of Ireland's Seamus Coleman
2018 World Cup qualifiers: Moldova v Wales |
|---|
Venue: Stadionul Zimbru, Chisinau Date: Tuesday, 5 September Kick-off: 19:45 BST |
Coverage: Live commentary on BBC Radio Wales, BBC Radio Cymru & BBC Sport website and BBC Sport app, plus live text commentary. |
James Chester says his team-mate Neil Taylor was "deeply affected" by his leg-breaking tackle on Seamus Coleman.
Taylor received a two-match ban for his challenge on Coleman in Dublin in March which left the Republic of Ireland captain with a double leg fracture.
The Wales defender has not spoken about the incident as he prepares to return from suspension in Moldova on Tuesday.
"Playing with him at club level I know he was deeply affected by it," Aston Villa defender Chester said.
"He was obviously very disappointed with what happened.
"It was something he didn't mean to do and as footballers there's almost an acceptance we will get injuries in our career.
"The game moves on and it's nice to see that Seamus is back and close to fitness now.
"Neil has moved on with his career and he seems back to normal now."
James Chester and Neil Taylor are team-mates at both international and club level
Uefa handed Taylor a two-match ban for the red card tackle and he subsequently missed Wales' World Cup qualifying games with Serbia and Austria.
But Taylor is available for Tuesday's match away to Moldova in Chisinau and is expected to start in his customary left wing-back position.
"I don't think there's any getting away from the the fact it wasn't a great challenge," Chester said.
"But I think the fact it was Wales against Ireland and Seamus playing in the Premier League, the detail on Neil was a lot more than if the incident had happened against, say, Austria or Moldova.
"Neil would never wish that injury on anyone and he was more worried about the impact on Seamus than what anyone was saying about him.
"He's obviously been through something similar in his own career [suffering a broken ankle against Sunderland in September 2012], so anything labelled at him that it was intentional would have been incorrect.
"Neil knew Seamus would have had to have been through the same thing as him."