Sam Ricketts has become the latest Swans player to be called up by his country when he was named in John Toshack's first Wales squad which will face Hungary in a friendly in Cardiff on February 9.

Ricketts, who joined the Swans last summer has constantly impressed with his performances in the Swans defence and also his attacking abilities from the flanks. John Toshack has watched Sam both in training and in action and has decided that he likes what he sees and has called him up for the first friendly date of the year.

Toshack has also called up head slapping midfielder Gavin Williams now of West Ham but there is no room for veteran goalkeeper, 79 year old Paul Jones. There is no announcement yet on the captaincy but both John Hartson and Ryan Giggs allegedly in the running although as it is a friendly date Hartson must surely hold the ace card because he is more likely to be there.

The full squad reads as follows

Wales Squad: Coyne (Burnley), Crossley (Fulham), Collins (Sunderland), Edwards (Wolves),Gabbidon (Cardiff), Page (Cardiff), Partridge (Motherwell), Ricketts (Swansea),Roberts (Tranmere), Weston (Cardiff), Davies (Tottenham), Fletcher (West Ham),Giggs (Man Utd), Koumas (West Brom), Robinson (Sunderland), Savage (Blackburn),Williams (West Ham), Bellamy (Newcastle), Earnshaw (West Brom), Hartson(Celtic).

The bad news for the Swans is that the call up will leave us without Sam for the trip to Mansfield on February 8. It was hoped that with Sam, Murphy and Stuart Jones we would get the three call ups needed to call the game off but Jones was today left out of the Welsh Under 21 squad to play Germany on the same night as the Mansfield game.

Wales Under-21 squad to play Germany in UEFA Championship Group Six qualifier at Wrexham on 8 February:Price (Ipswich), Worgan (Rushden), Beevers (Boston), Collins (capt, Cardiff), Duffy (Portsmouth), Gilbert (Plymouth), Morgan (Wrexham), Nyatanga (Derby), Fowler (Huddersfield), Ledley (Cardiff), Pipe (Notts County), Pulis (Portsmouth), Vaughan (Crewe), Birchall (Arsenal), Calliste (Man Utd), Crofts (Gillingham), Davies (Oxford), Tolley (Shrewsbury).

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