Ashley Williams: Wales captain back to his best, says Joe Allen
BBC
International friendly: Wales v Spain
Venue: Principality Stadium, Cardiff Date: Thurs, 11 Oct Kick-off:
Wales can expect captain Ashley Williams to be at his best against Spain in Cardiff on Thursday, midfielder Joe Allen says.
The Stoke City team-mates are in Ryan Giggs' squad for that friendly and the Nations League game against Republic of Ireland in Dublin five days later.
Williams suffered a punctured lung when Wales played Mexico on 29 May.
"He's worked hard to get himself back fit and certainly back to his best in my opinion," said Allen.
Williams is on loan at Championship side Stoke from Premier League side Everton and Allen said: "He's made a big difference to us in recent weeks."
Stoke are unbeaten in three league games and Allen hopes he and Williams can maintain their personal form as Wales host Spain at Principality Stadium.
Wales last played there when losing 2-0 to England in a European Championship qualifier in March 2011.
Since then, Cardiff City Stadium has become their regular home.
"I can't wait. As a team we've come a long way since we last played there," said Allen.
"It's a great game against Spain to look forward to as well so I'm sure the atmosphere and support will be great there as well.
"It's a good chance for a lot of the lads to play there for the first time."
Allen last played at the venue - then known as the Millennium Stadium - for Great Britain at the 2012 Olympics in a penalty shootout defeat by South Korea.
Wales manager Giggs, Allen's midfield colleague Aaron Ramsey, Wales forward Craig Bellamy and defender Neil Taylor also featured.
"It was a great night, a packed house; to get a chance to play in the Olympics in Cardiff was obviously a fond memory for me," said Allen.
"So I'm looking to get another chance to play there and hopefully it can be another night to remember."
However, he and his team-mates have their Dublin date in the Nations League at the backs of their minds.
Wales hammered Republic of Ireland 4-1 in their opener before losing 2-0 in Denmark.
Allen said of the game against Ireland: "That's the competitive fixture, a really important one for us when we're looking to bounce back from the defeat in Denmark to get a win on our travels."
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