SAINTS loanee David Brooks was forced off through illness having come on as a substitute in Wales' penalties defeat to Poland in a Euro 2024 qualification final.

Brooks was introduced with six regular minutes left on the clock but was withdrawn in the second half of extra time, with Ipswich Town's Nathan Broadhead coming on in his place.

Speaking after the game, Page admitted it was a risk bringing the Southampton forward on, but one worth taking.

He said: "Brooksy has been ill since Thursday. He has not trained a minute on the grass. He was a gamble.

"Someone of Brooksy's quality, you want to get them on the pitch. We realised straight away that he didn't have a run in him.

READ MORE: Bednarek’s Poland beat Brooks’ Wales on penalties to secure spot at Euro 2024

"He admitted that. It was a tough one. We had to bring Broady on because we just wanted to get over the line and make sure that we had legs to do that."

Brooks scored the opening goal for Cymru in their 4-1 playoff semi-final win over Finland last week before setting up Brennan Johnson.

The 26 year old has become a key player for Southampton since joining on loan from Premier League outfit AFC Bournemouth in January.

Brooks had provided 10 goal contributions in his previous 10 games ahead of his brief cameo at the Cardiff City Stadium.

Russell Martin is expected to give a further update on Brooks' fitness ahead of facing Middlesbrough on Good Friday.