He may not have emulated Tom Hanks in desperately crying out the brand name of a now famous volleyball in anguish, but Craig Bellamy could be forgiven for letting out a sigh or two when naming his Wales squad last month.

Harry Wilson was one of only five players - Sorba Thomas, Joe Rodon, Ben Davies and Neco Williams being the other four - to feature in each of Bellamy's opening six matches in charge during the Nations League.

But he was unavailable for the March 2026 World Cup qualifying double header with Kazakhstan and North Macedonia after needing surgery to repair a stress fracture in his foot.

The 28-year-old missed 14 matches across all competitions for club and country but made his long-awaited return to action as a late substitute in Fulham's 2-1 loss to Chelsea at Craven Cottage on Sunday.

His presence bodes well for Marco Silva who is bidding to guide the Cottagers into Europe.

But Bellamy will be thrilled to see Wilson get more game time over the remainder of Fulham's run-in as he continues his preparations for the June qualifiers against Liechtenstein and Belgium.

The former Liverpool attacker was the standout performer for his country in the first campaign of the post-Rob Page era, with Wilson scoring four goals and providing one assist across six matches in the Nations League between September and November.

With talisman Gareth Bale out of the frame for more than two years by now, Wilson has done everything in his power to pick up a hefty chunk of the enormous weight the former Real Madrid star carried on his shoulders throughout his international career.

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Such has been Wilson's impact at times this season, most notably after his dramatic late brace off the bench earned Fulham a 2-1 comeback win over west London rivals Brentford, Bellamy likened some of the Corwen product's talents to those of his former team-mates Luis Suarez, Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano.

"He’s a player I’m really impressed with, especially his attitude," said Bellamy.

"He is so strong and he’s streetwise like the South Americans. I played with Suarez, Tevez and Mascherano and the way they used their bodies was amazing. 

"Harry uses his body in that way and if you get too tight to him, you foul him. His smartness and how he is able to press, his intensity and what he is able to do, really tells me how good a player he is."

Despite large amounts of control and some decent openings, Wales lacked a killer spark in the final third as they had to rescue a point at the death against North Macedonia last time out.

And without the iconic figure of Bale or a prime Aaron Ramsey in his ranks at present, Bellamy - as Page did so often too - has turned to Wilson to be the star man.

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Having replaced Bellamy to earn the first of his 60 international caps against Belgium in 2013 on what was his current manager's final appearance for his country, few could have predicted how key a relationship the duo would have little more than a decade on.

Wilson's tally of 12 goals in a Welsh jersey puts him joint-14th, alongside Ryan Giggs, John Toshack and Dai Astley, on his country's all-time list of record goal scorers for the men's side.

He is also one of just 21 players to hit double figures for Wales, and having just turned 28 years of age, few would bet against him rising up those charts.

It has been far from plain sailing for Wilson at Fulham, with starts sometimes proving difficult to come by for the Welshman.

But he is undoubtedly reaping the rewards of playing alongside players who have lifted the Londoners from being a yo-yo club to European contenders.

That can only bode well for Bellamy and those around Wilson on the pitch in the red of Wales.