Wales winger Wes Burns has Craig Bellamy to thank for helping shake fears that his football career was over after an ACL injury.Burns suffered a serious knee injury in January 2025 and missed 342 days of action, leading to doubts he would ever play again.Burns has opened up about his struggles and Bellamy’s vital help when recovering from his ACL injuryGettyBut the 31-year-old managed to fight through a long recovery to return to the pitch for Ipswich at the turn of the year. And now, having signed for Leicester City in the summer, he has been called up to represent his country under Bellamy.Burns had missed the last seven Wales camps due to his injury and the tough task of getting back to full fitness again.However, Bellamy has included him in his squad this month for the Dragons’ clashes against Cristiano Ronaldo‘s Portugal and Erling Haaland‘s Norway as well as two meetings with Denmark.It is the first time since October 2024 that the 22-cap man has been called up to a squad for an international break.Burns thanks Bellamy for ‘amazing gesture’Speaking from the Wales camp, Burns revealed that he is delighted to be back working with manager Bellamy, who had been in regular contact with him over his gruelling recovery period.“The main thing with the boss here that I enjoy the most is, although I’ve been away from camp for almost two years now, I’ve pretty much spoken to him once a month, every other month since I did my ACL,” he revealed to talkSPORT’s Laurence Mora.“Which is an amazing gesture from him and a massive plus for me, as he never made me feel like I was too far away from the squad.“He always made me feel like I was a part of what was being built here, so to come back into his squad is a massive, proud moment for more from where I’ve been in terms of my injury. “I can’t thank him enough for what he did for me during that time.” Burns missed almost an entire year after suffering a serious knee injury for Ipswich against Liverpool in January 2025AFPThe winger is now back in the Wales squad for the first time since October 2024GettyWhen asked whether it meant to him that Bellamy was keeping in touch, Burns spoke further on the loneliness of recovery.“It’s weird because it feels like football forgets you… you’re grafting in the gym on your own or your physio, you can sort of feel very isolated and that you’re not really that footballer anymore, you’re just a guy in the gym trying to get fit,” he admitted.“But for him to continually check in on me and give me bits of advice from when he did his knee, times have advanced and things have changed, but just from the mental side of it, it was a massive plus.“He made sure that I was always doing the right things and kept me in line if I felt like I was deviating… struggling to find the motivation to go into the gym again, he always kept me in line.“Obviously he didn’t have to do that and I think it just goes a long way to show the type of man that he is.” Wales boss Bellamy kept in contact with Burns and helped him hugely during his recoveryPABurns has thanked his international boss for sticking with him during a time when he felt he may never play football againGettyBurns admits fears of career being overA call-up for Wales this month is a huge moment for Burns that has rewarded all of his hard work fighting back from injury. Bellamy’s help clearly made a big impact, particularly as the Leicester forward was going through a time when he didn’t know whether he would be able to play football ever again.He explained: “I think that [not playing again] always crosses your mind when you’re going through the rehab and going back to playing football.“You always question whether you’re going to be at the same level when you come back.“Did it cross my mind that I might not get a chance to come back and play for Wales? Yeah, of course. “But it also crossed my mind that I might not play football again when I first did my injury.“So, it’s just one of those things. You have to take it in your stride and I’m incredibly grateful to be here again.”Burns will hope to make what will likely be an emotional first appearance for Wales in almost two years when they take on Portugal in the Nations League on Thursday evening.