Hughes: Bellamy was fit to play

Craig Bellamy has impressed for Wales this season

Wales manager Mark Hughes believes that Coventry have unnecessarily withdrawn striker Craig Bellamy from international action.

The Sky Blues, recently relegated from the Premiership, claim that Bellamy is not fit to play in either of Wales' two vital World Cup qualifiers.

Poland visit the Millennium Stadium on Saturday, before Wales travel to Kiev to face Ukraine the following Wednesday.

While Wales manager Hughes can still call on the services of Bellamy's club colleague and strike partner John Hartson, the withdrawal will damage Wales' slim hopes of qualifying from Group Five.

Because we're a small association there's nothing we can do

  Wales manager Mark Hughes

"Bellamy was fit to play," Hughes said. "Our medical people had a look at him, they had a look at the report of the scan that he had.

"The scan said the Achilles tendon was normal, he's got a slight inflammation and that was it.

"There's no actual damage to the tendon, there's no discomfort when he runs and no pain.

"But Coventry have said he can't play under any circumstances and because they've said that it becomes an insurance issue for us."

Risk

The rules from FIFA, the world governing body, give the final say on a player's fitness to national bodies.

However, the Football Association of Wales faced a prohibitively high insurance premium if Bellamy was to play once Coventry had ruled the striker unfit.

"Because we're a small association there's nothing we can do. If in the future he had a problem they (Coventry) would say we were liable and it's a risk we can't take.

Splendid isolation: John Hartson has lost strike partner Craig Bellamy

"I don't want to say too much but I was surprised really. I felt something could have been worked out. We tried all avenues but we had to admit defeat.

"Craig was desperate to play. Arguably he was one of our main performers in our last game and to lose him at this stage is very disappointing."

Poland have also suffered an injury blow before Saturday's match at the Millenium Stadium.

Tomasz Waldoch, the defender from German club Schalke 04, has pulled out of the Poland squad with injury.

Waldoch played against Wales when Hughes' side earned a goalless draw in Warsaw against the Group Five frontrunners.