Wales winger Tom Lawrence believes the disappointment of missing out on Euro 2016 selection due to injury has made him a more resilient person.

The former Manchester United academy graduate who hails from Penyffordd, looked set to be heading to France as part of Chris Coleman’s squad, only to tear ankle ligaments on the last day of the team’s training camp, ruling him out altogether.

Lawrence’s career has gone from strength-to-strength since suffering that heartbreak, having scored three goals in 18 appearances for his country to date and becoming a key figure of Frank Lampard’s Derby County side after joining the club in August 2017.

But in an interview with former Wales midfielder Owain Tudur Jones for S4C’s Mwy o Sgorio series, the former Castell Alun High School pupil admitted that the summer of 2016 was one of the biggest setbacks of his career.

The 25 year-old said: "I don’t think I’ve ever been so low after getting injured. On the last day of training camp, we had a little game and I did my ankle. I knew straight away it wasn’t going to be good.

"Deep down, you’re gutted because you want to be part of it and you want to be out there with the lads. But these things happen in football and there’s not a lot you can do about it. I went out to France and watched a few of the games with the fans, so it was good to experience the atmosphere. I tried to make the best of a bad situation, and it turned out really well for us in the end.

"That was one of the toughest periods of my career, but I’d say it was beneficial in the long run. Mentally, it helped me a lot when I came back, and the next season at Ipswich was my best season."

Now, under Ryan Giggs – the man who gave Lawrence his Manchester United debut in 2014 – the winger-come-striker is a prominent figure of the Welsh frontline, starting all four of the team’s UEFA Nations League matches last year.

"He gave me my chance at Manchester United, my boyhood club growing up, so I’ll be forever grateful for the chance he gave me, and it was great for my family to see that. It’s nice, because I grew up watching him and now he’s my manager. It’s always nice if you know them already. It’s been good so far and hopefully we can create something really good with this Wales squad now

The production line of exciting Welsh attacking talent has shown no sign of ceasing over the last two years, with David Brooks, Harry Wilson, Ben Woodburn, Daniel James and Rabbi Matondo all vying for places in the team. It’s a challenge which Lawrence relishes with the qualifying campaign for Euro 2020 on the horizon.

Lawrence added: "It must be really exciting for the manager. We’ve got a good balance in the squad now and it’s going to be tough for everyone to get a game because we’re all going to be fighting for places. We all want to play at the end of the day, so it’s a tough one for the manager too.

"We’d ideally like to start this campaign with a good performance and a good win, but we know Slovakia are a good team. It’s going to be a tough year ahead but one the lads are really looking forward to."

Watch the full interview with Tom Lawrence on S4C’s Mwy o Sgorio at 6.30pm on Wednesday, at 11pm on Thursday, or on demand at the S4C Clic service. Also, watch all of Wales’ upcoming matches, including the friendly versus Trinidad and Tobago on March 20 and the Euro 2020 qualifier versus Slovakia on March 24, live on S4C.