Wales players were recovering from shock at their hotel in north‑east Switzerland on Tuesday night after their team bus was involved in an accident with a car en route to a planned training session in St Gallen.
An ambulance was called to the scene and took the driver of the other vehicle to hospital after the collision at about 3.30pm local time. Swiss police said the driver was being treated for minor injuries. The Welsh Football Association said everyone on the team bus, including the driver, was unharmed.
A shaken Wales head coach, Rhian Wilkinson, cancelled a partly open training session due to take place at the stadium where they play France on Wednesday. She instead scheduled a light session at her squad’s base at Weinfelden, about 30 minutes’ drive from St Gallen, for Tuesday evening as they focus on their vital Group D match.
Wilkinson, the Wales captain, Angharad James, and the team’s media manager, Owain Harries, were not on the bus. They were driven to St Gallen in a car for a press conference at the stadium.
“I have been assured everyone on the bus is OK,” said a clearly stunned Wilkinson, who was told of the crash shortly after she arrived. “Most importantly, I think the driver of the other vehicle is OK as well.
“But football is secondary now; we’re shaken. Our priority now is to get everyone together and away from the scene. What does my prep for the France game look like now? I will see how everyone is first and then make decisions.
“We’ll be constantly checking on everyone involved and making sure they all continue to be OK. We’ve practised for the unexpected and I guess that is what you would call this.”
France beat England in their opening Group D match in Zurich while Wales lost 3-0 to the Netherlands in Lucerne.
