Ashley Williams: Stoke defender still Wales' leader - James Chester
- Published
Ashley Williams and James Chester featured alongside one another in all six of Wales Euro 2016 games
Ashley Williams will silence critics and carry on showing his leadership skills for Wales says James Chester.
Williams, who turned 34 last week, has had a torrid time for club and country over the last 12 months.
The 79-times capped central defender lost his Everton place before joining Stoke on a season-long loan this month.
But Williams' fortunes have not improved as he was sent off against Wigan last week, his second red card in three club-level games.
Wales manager Ryan Giggs names his squad on Wednesday for the UEFA Nations League games against the Republic of Ireland and Denmark, and Williams' poor form has led to many on social media suggesting his distinguished international career is coming to an end.
"The lads know what an important player Ash has been, and is, for us," Chester told Press Association Sport.
"It was unfortunate that he had a difficult season at Everton last year but it did not matter when he turned up for Wales.
"He is our leader and I think Ash will certainly be around for a long time yet."
Williams' last Wales appearance, a goalless draw with Mexico in May, saw him suffer a horror injury and end up in a Los Angeles hospital.
What seemed an innocuous collision with striker Javier Hernandez led to Williams suffering a collapsed lung and nursing "multiple breaks" to two ribs.
"When I saw the injury I was surprised that he was back so soon," Chester said.
"It was a real nasty injury, but that shows you the man Ash is."
Chester missed the friendly with Mexico in Pasadena as he got married that week, but the Aston Villa captain is looking forward to the inaugural Nations League, which will see emerging Welsh talent Ethan Ampadu, Chris Mepham and David Brooks pushing for selection.
"It's an exciting time for us," Chester said. "We've had a change of manager and we've got some really talented young players coming through in to the squad.
"We played a Mexico side that was getting ready for the World Cup and it was a good result against a team that did well in Russia.
"We saw Denmark at the World Cup and they've got some really good players, and it would be nice to beat Ireland after what happened in Cardiff last year.
"Obviously that's one game we'd like to have back, but we've got a chance to go up against them again and start the competition well."