The striker again looked below par as Wales lost to Serbia & Montenegro on Saturday and Sir Bobby has decided to leave him at home to rest, allowing one of the youngsters to press their claims for a regular place in the starting line up.
Lee Bowyer is suspended and Jonathan Woodgate still recuperating from his hernia surgery, but Laurent Robert, Nobby Solano and Lomana LuaLua all return to the squad.
With a 5-0 lead from the first leg there has been much talk of Sir Bobby playing a weakened team on Wednesday in order to avoid injuries ahead of Saturday’s match at Middlesbrough.**
Surely we can’t lose from five up, so it would be good to see Steve Harper and Steve Caldwell given a run out, while Solano, Hugo Viana and Michael Chopra must all be itching for the chance to impress.
Squad: Given, Harper, Caig, Griffin, Hughes, Bernard, O'Brien, Bramble, S Caldwell, Dyer, Speed, Robert, Solano, Ambrose, Jenas, Viana, Shearer, Ameobi, LuaLua, Chopra, Cort.
** Fixture still to be confirmed due to possible imaginary severe weather conditions.