Wales manager Rob Page has revealed that Neco Williams took his red card against France 'hard' - but Gareth Bale has been working hard to lift the youngster's spirits.
Williams was given his marching orders after VAR ruled he handled the ball on the goal line during Wales’ defeat to France on Wednesday night.
The full-back was sent off midway through the first half after handling the ball following a header from Manchester United's Paul Pogba.
Wales keeper Danny Ward produced a superb save to deny Pogba's effort, but the bungled rebound from Karim Benzema hit Williams on the hand from close-range.
Referee Luis Godinho initially gave a corner, but after consulting with VAR, awarded a penalty then sent off the Reds youngster deciding he had denied a clear goal scoring opportunity.
Williams’ suspension means his playing time has been severely limited in the run-up to his side's Euro 2020 opener against Switzerland next Saturday.
"We miss him for [Albania]," Page said. "It's unbelievable. It is what it is and we have to get on with it.
"He took it hard to start with, and he wanted to stay out and ask the referee for justification.
"I had to bring him into the changing room, it's not going to change anything, explain that to him.
"He's disappointed for himself because he knows the importance of getting those minutes on board for next week. He knows there might be repercussions because of that."
While Bale has revealed it didn't take long for the jokes to be made in a bid to lift Williams' spirits.
"Neco's fine," he said. "Obviously disappointed to get sent off. It wasn't a red card, to be honest. Debatable whether it was even a penalty.
"All of us get behind him then we started joking about it when the game's over, lifting his spirits. He's fine.
"Anything like that happens to any of the players, we always get behind them and support them and get them back happy again and helping the team."
