Wes Burns had every reason to fear his football career was over. A torn anterior cruciate ligament suffered during Ipswich Town's defeat at Liverpool in January 2025 sidelined the Wales winger for nearly a year, derailing what should have been his first full Premier League campaign. Yet as Burns fights his way back onto the international stage, he credits one man with ensuring he never felt truly forgotten during his darkest moments: Craig Bellamy. The Wales head coach's regular check-ins—calls every month or every two weeks—proved instrumental in keeping the 31-year-old mentally anchored through a grueling rehabilitation process that could easily have broken his resolve.
Burns made a point of pulling Bellamy aside to express his gratitude for that unwavering support, describing it as "massive" to his recovery journey. "The world of football forgets you very, very fast when you're not playing," the Cardiff-born winger reflected. "But when someone of Craig Bellamy's stature is calling me every month, or once every two weeks, to make sure I'm doing well... it's a massive, massive plus." Bellamy's personal experience with a similar injury during his own playing career gave his counsel particular weight, making Burns feel as though recovery was genuinely within reach rather than an impossible dream. Without that consistent backing, Burns admitted his Wales career might have followed the same trajectory as his injury—ending prematurely and without closure.
Burns' route back to football took an unconventional turn when he chose Leicester City over a chance to complete unfinished business at Ipswich, where the club had secured immediate promotion back to the Premier League. The forward reasoned that a longer contract at the King Power Stadium offered better career longevity prospects, with the tantalizing possibility of recreating the back-to-back promotions he had engineered at Portman Road. "I could've done another year at Ipswich, and I was weighing up whether to finish the story of playing a full season in the Premier League," Burns explained, acknowledging the emotional pull of that unfinished chapter. "But I also had to think about the longevity of my career." Leicester currently sit 13th in League One with two wins from seven matches under former Swansea City manager Russell Martin, but Burns remains convinced the pieces will fall into place. "It feels like they're very much in the same spot as when I went into Ipswich," he said, drawing parallels to his previous resurrection story.
Now, just over two years since earning his last Wales cap in October 2024, Burns is determined to capitalize on his second chance at international football. He remained on the bench during Thursday's 1-0 defeat to Portugal but is targeting meaningful minutes against Denmark in Copenhagen on Sunday. The step up from League One football to Nations League A opposition represents a considerable quality gap, yet Burns draws confidence from his Premier League pedigree and experience facing elite international talent. "Going from the weekly level of football I'm now at to possibly playing against Norway, Denmark or Portugal... obviously the gap in quality is going to be massive," he acknowledged. "But I've had experience of playing in the Premier League and against very good international teams." As Wales embarks on their Nations League campaign, Burns' journey from career-threatening injury to international recall stands as a testament to both personal resilience and the power of managerial faith during a player's darkest hour.