Wales's Tom Lawrence: 'Gareth Bale absence does not faze us'

Wales forward Tom Lawrence has insisted that the national team will be unfazed by the absence of Gareth Bale in their remaining World Cup qualifiers.

The Real Madrid star will miss the decisive fixtures against Georgia and the Republic of Ireland with a calf injury, but the Derby County striker believes that the Dragons are capable of getting the results they need without him.

"He's a big loss, but that doesn't faze us," the Daily Mail quotes Lawrence as saying.

"We've been without him before and will deal with it again. It's obviously a massive loss because he's a great player who plays for Real Madrid.

"But we've got a strong squad and whoever comes in needs to step and do a job. We've got a good group and they will want to put a shift in."

Lawrence is expected to partner Burnley's Sam Vokes up front when Wales take on Georgia and Ireland, matches they must win to stand any chance of reaching the finals.