Brennan Johnson has been ruled out of Wales' Euro 2024 qualifiers against Croatia and Latvia this week.
The Nottingham Forest man is arguably the most in-form Welsh player at the moment, especially after his two-goal haul against Everton at the start of the month.
After playing 90 minutes against Newcastle United last Friday, Johnson then did not report for international duty due to a groin issue he initially suffered against Tottenham Hotspur a week earlier.
Speaking to the media in his pre-match press conference, Rob Page was unhappy at how the attacker's fitness was handled.
Page explained: "First and foremost I feel for Brennan. He wants to play international football like everybody else. As we know, playing for your country is something very special, it shouldn't be taken for granted, by anyone. Everybody who has got a responsibility for Brennan should respect that and help him in any way they can."
Making reference to his injury against Spurs, Page illustrated his frustrations at how he was managed, saying: "We were aware of something last week and then he went and played 90 minutes on the Friday and wasn't available to meet up on the Sunday."
After Gareth Bale's retirement following the World Cup, the injury to Johnson only adds to Page's attacking woes.
Daniel James, Kieffer Moore and Harry Wilson have been starved of minutes at club level, while Nathan Broadhead and Liam Cullen are uncapped.
Facing World Cup semi-finalists Croatia first up is the biggest challenge on paper for the Welsh in Group D, with Turkey and Armenia also in the section, as well as Latvia who they play on Tuesday. body check tags ::
