Wales and Swansea suffer Cooper injury blow

Ollie Cooper has made 100 senior appearances for Swansea since coming through the club's academy

Swansea City and Wales midfielder Ollie Cooper is facing three months out because of a stress fracture in his foot.

Cooper has been a regular for Swansea this season and has also made an impression in Craig Bellamy’s new-look Wales side.

But the 24-year-old will be sidelined until 2025 after a scan revealed the injury issue.

Cooper will miss Wales’ Nations League games against Turkey and Iceland this month, while he will be absent for a significant chunk of the Championship season.

The loss of Cooper is a heavy blow for Swansea, given that he has returned to form under Luke Williams this season having struggled at times during the last campaign.

"It's very bad news, very disappointing for Ollie and for us," said Swansea head coach Williams.

"He is a very talented player and he's had a fantastic opening to the season.

"It's difficult to understand where it came from because there wasn’t really a moment or too many signals. But we need to support him to get back into training as quickly as he can."

The Cooper blow is a second major injury setback in a fortnight for Swansea, who saw South Korea international Eom Ji-Sung ruled out for six weeks with a knee problem last month.

Cooper had played in all 12 Swansea league games this season before being ruled out of this weekend’s win at Oxford United.

The Swansea academy product has also featured in all four of Bellamy’s Wales games so far.