Newcastle defender Paul Dummett puts his international career on hold to focus on his club career and family.
Paul Dummett celebrates after scoring for Newcastle
Newcastle United defender Paul Dummett has decided to withdraw himself from international duty with Wales for the immediate future so he can spend more time with his family and concentrate on his club career, sources have told HITC Sport.
Dummett, who helped Newcastle secure the Championship title, starting 44 games for Rafa Benitez’s side, has not been named in Chris Coleman’s squad for next month’s World Cup qualifier with Serbia after opting to focus on his club career.
Wales manager Chris Coleman
Coleman confirmed on Thursday when naming his squad for a training camp and the Serbia game that Dummett had made himself unavailable for selection.
“He doesn’t want to play international football, which is a disappointment from our point of view,” said Wales manager Chris Coleman.
“But he’s made that decision, and we have to abide by that.”
Reading’s Lewis Grabban and Newcastle United’s Paul Dummett in action
The left-back made his debut for Wales against the Netherlands in June 2014 with a seven minute run-out off the bench, but injuries and team selection have restricted him to just two caps.
Dummett missed out on Euro 2016 with Wales despite being named in the squad for the pre-tounament training camp and travelled to France in case any of the squad got injured.
Despite being called up to several squads since his debut in 2014 Dummett has played just 32 minutes of action for Wales even though he was promised more game-time by Coleman.
Newcastle United’s Paul Dummett in action with Leeds United’s Eunan O’Kane and Hadi Sacko
The 25-year-old has yet to feature in a competitive game for Wales with his last appearance coming with a twenty-five minute cameo off the bench against the Netherlands in November 2015 and his struggles to break into the team are in contrast to his exploits for Newcastle.
In total Dummett has been an unused substitute in nine games for Wales during the last three qualifying campaigns meaning the player has been forced to spend a lot of time away from his family and not even getting any opportunities to play.
Dummett has informed the Football Association of Wales and Coleman that he does not want to be considered for next month’s World Cup qualifier with Serbia so that he can spend time with his family and recharge his batteries after a long hard season for Newcastle, where he made 47 appearances in total.
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