Chris Coleman, the Wales manager, is hopeful Gareth Bale will make himself available for the majority of his national side's matches.

The comments came after the Real Madrid player withdrew from the squad ahead of a friendly with the Netherlands due to a muscle injury.

Wales have become accustomed to the idea that Bale will not feature in friendlies, but Coleman has urged the forward to emulate Real team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo when it comes to international duty.

"Look how many caps Ronaldo has got for Portugal - over 100 - he never misses a game," said Coleman. "If it is good enough for Ronaldo it is good enough for anyone."