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Joe Allen says Neil Taylor is distraught after Seamus Coleman injury

Wales' Neil Taylor is sent off during the 2018 FIFA World Cup Qualifying, Group D match at the Aviva Stadium, Dublin.
Image: Wales' Neil Taylor is sent off during the 2018 FIFA World Cup Qualifying, Group D match at the Aviva Stadium, Dublin.

Wales midfielder Joe Allen says his team mate Neil Taylor is very upset about the challenge which left Republic of Ireland captain Seamus Coleman with a broken leg.

Taylor received a straight red card for the foul, which occurred in the 69th minute of Friday night's 0-0 draw in a World Cup Qualifier at the Aviva.

And Coleman is set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines, having suffered a double fracture of his right tibia which will require surgery.

Asked for Taylor's reaction, Allen said: "He's in bits to be honest.

DUBLIN, IRELAND - MARCH 24:  Joe Allen of Wales evades James McClean of the Republic of Ireland during the FIFA 2018 World Cup Qualifier between Republic o
Image: Joe Allen and James McClean during Friday's World Cup qualifier in Dublin

"He is one of my best mates and he's a great guy. He's really disappointed that one of his tackles has ended up getting someone hurt.

"But unfortunately in football these things can happen. There was no malice in the tackle and he certainly wouldn't have intended to hurt anyone.

"I know him as well as anyone and I think everyone is disappointed, and from Seamus' point of view it doesn't look great."

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Wales next travel to Serbia for their next World Cup Qualifier but key man Gareth Bale will be suspended after he picked up a booking in Dublin on Friday.

Despite remaining unbeaten in Group D, Wales are four points adrift of both Serbia and Republic of Ireland, after one win and four draws.

Looking ahead to the trip to Belgrade, Allen said: "It's always disappointing when people miss out through suspension.

Live International Football: FIFA World Cup 2018 Qualifiers

"We're going to miss him and I'm not going to try to deflect from that.

"But we've had games without Aaron [Ramsey] and Ben [Davies] - important players for us - and we'll just have to cope with it.

"Serbia will obviously be glad that he's not playing but we certainly feel we've got enough to go out there and overcome that.

"It's still in our hands, because we can take three points off everyone.

"We're still unbeaten, which obviously doesn't count for that much - it's all about points - but we're hard to beat and we're not going to make it easy for anyone."

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