Chris Mepham: Bournemouth defender back for Wales after 'dark place' of injury

When Chris Mepham was last at Wembley, he was there as a spectator.

It may be a friendly but, having endured the most difficult period of his career following a series of serious knee injuries, this will be a significant fixture for the 22-year-old centre-back.

"It's been the hardest season for me personally," says Mepham.

"It's a really dark place when you've had a couple of injuries and, when I came back from the first injury, I thought that was the injury behind me and I could look forward.

"And then to pick up another knee injury and have another operation, it was a very hard time for me. It was important I had good people around me to support me through that time, and to have that goal of getting back in a Bournemouth shirt and a Wales shirt."

On Thursday, Mepham will have the chance to pull on a Welsh jersey for the first time in almost a year.

His most recent appearance was the 2-0 victory over Hungary which clinched qualification for Euro 2020, which was then postponed for a year because of the coronavirus pandemic.

When Mepham first suffered his knee injury in January, he thought that would deny him the opportunity to play at a major tournament with Wales.

So amid the gloom of lockdown and returning to action without fans, there was at least the consolation that he might get that opportunity next summer.

"When I got the injury I did have a little panic about missing the Euros and potentially having to wait another two years for a major tournament," Mepham adds.

"With coronavirus, the only positive was it gave me a little bit more time to get ready and, with the Euros being pushed back, hopefully allows me to be fit going into it."

Thursday's friendly against England will be Mepham's first step towards re-establishing himself in Wales' team in time for the Euros.

And making his return to international football at Wembley will make it all the more special.

"I've been there to watch Spurs play but I've never played there. It's something I'm really looking forward to doing," says the former Brentford player.

"For any player, Wembley's going to be a huge occasion, whether that's for cup finals or playing against England. They're all really big games."

Mepham is clearly excited at the prospect of returning to Wembley as a player - but he is quick to clarify that his previous visit was not as a Tottenham supporter.

"No, I couldn't be further from a Spurs fan," he says.

"I'm not an Arsenal fan, my boyhood team is QPR."

So marking England captain and Spurs striker Harry Kane will not be a conflict of interest?

"Hopefully I can keep him quiet," Mepham says with a smile.

"As footballers, we don't really separate between friendlies and competitive matches - for us, we want to win the match."