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In the heat of battle in Nicosia, Ashley Williams was clearly struggling.

He had already taken a blow to the throat in his bid for another Wales clean sheet, and this time a knock to his leg had left him limping.

The centre-back received no treatment, but instead rushed to the sideline during a Wales attack, downed some painkillers handed to him, and carried on.

In one swig, it summarised the Swansea star: get hurt, get on with it.

Statistics on another level

It’s an attitude that says much about the man. Not so much as a desire to be there for Wales as they bid for glory, but because it’s in his make up; Williams the warrior.

Few can doubt the commitment of the current cop in Chris Coleman’s charge. Gareth Bale looked to be struggling with his calf against Israel but had to be dragged off long after he was seen stretching it out. Likewise Aaron Ramsey appeared to have pinged his hamstring in hitting a long pass against Cyprus but showed little inclination of wanting to make way.

But Williams, as statistics show, is on another level.

(Image: Nick Potts/PA Wire)

In terms of Wales, no player comes close to him when it comes to making himself available for his country.

Since making his debut against Luxembourg in March 2008 as a Stockport County player – seven-and-a-half years ago – Williams has missed just eight games. In other words, out of the 61 matches Wales have played since and including his debut he has won 53 caps (21 of which has been as captain).

Different defensive partners

As a percentage, Williams has won caps in 87% of the international games since he became an international – a tally no-one can touch in the Wales squad, playing alongside ten different defensive partners.

Read more: Swansea City captain Ashley Williams could play for any club in the Premier League - Chris Coleman

The next closest is Chris Gunter who has won 61 caps since his debut in 2007, a ratio that helped him become the youngest Welshman to hit 50 appearances when he celebrated the half-century at the age of just 24 (he is now still 26) and puts in him in pole position to break Neville Southall’s record of 92.

Ashley Williams for Wales 87% Appearance rate

With injuries affecting other young-capped stars - Bale has won 52 caps from a possible 81 and Wayne Hennessey 51 from 71, for example – it puts Williams ahead since Brian Flynn and John Toshack took him to the international stage from the bottom tier.

But it is worth breaking down the eight games he missed. Two he was on the bench for when Tosh surprisingly dropped him for a March 2009 game with Finland and he was rested but stayed among the substitutes for Gary Speed’s first game in charge against the Republic of Ireland in February 2011.

Rare misses

He missed two further games with Northern Ireland and Scotland that year because of Swansea’s involvement in the play-offs while the next game he missed was Serbia in September 2013 – the last competitive match Wales lost – because of suspension.

Read more:Liverpool or Arsenal should have signed Swansea City's Ashley Williams, says Rio Ferdinand

An ankle problem ruled him out of games with Macedonia and Belgium the following month, ruled out of club games before and after that double-header to underline the authenticity of the injury.

In fact, the only game where you wonder if he could have pulled through was last summer’s end of season friendly with the Netherlands, a game Coleman did not consider him for rather than his skipper ruling himself out.

He has been fortunate not to have suffered serious injury during this time as Hennessey and Aaron Ramsey have done – and both he and Coleman will be touching wood while reading this piece – but it is not surprising that he has been available more often that not given his approach to the game that stems from his part-time days with Hednesford Town.

'It’s the why I was brought up'

“I don’t know – my family ask me the same, worried I won’t be able to walk or play with the kids when I’m older,” he revealed earlier this year why he puts commitment above all else. “The only thing I can think of is that it’s the why I was brought up, the way my dad was, the way the guys were I played with at Hednesford.

“Back then if you could get on the pitch you did. At the time it meant a lot getting your appearance money because, well, you needed it.

“And that buzz of playing for your country is still the same. There’s been tough times and there are moments and matches when you question why you’re away from your kids. But when you retire there are players who will retire with a lot of things, memories and money and lifestyle – but not many will have international caps.”

It works on a club level too with some astonishing statistics. Since making his debut for Swansea in April 2008 at Carlisle, Williams has missed just NINE league games in more than seven years. He has appeared in a total of 293 out of 302 League One, Championship or Premier League games with five of those being games he has been deliberately rested in, including the two immediately after his first three outings where Roberto Martinez opted for the players that had to that point guided the team to promotion.

Premier League record

Stats supplied by Opta show he went on to play 169 consecutive league games, illness ruling him out the morning of the March 2012 game at Fulham to stop his record run, and the only game he missed the following season was at Liverpool when Michael Laudrup rested the players involved in the League Cup final the following week.

The aforementioned ankle problem sidelined him for three games in 2013 before he was rested in the last game of the season, something that also happened at Crystal Palace last term.

Related:Swansea City captain Ashley Williams on the reasons he has stayed with the Swans

In Premier League terms, it means no-one has played more top-flight games since Swansea’s promotion with Williams playing in 149 out of a possible 156, Manchester City’s Joe Hart the next best on 147 and the only outfield player coming close being the North East’s Jack Colback with 142.

Premier League appearances from August 2011 Opta

And in minutes, Williams has played an astonishing 13390 since Swansea’s Premier League bow – almost three hours more than Hart and 767 minutes more than the next highest outfield player, Stoke captain Ryan Shawcross. As a percentage Williams has played 95.4% of Swansea’s time in the Premier League, a figure only bettered by his level of commitment.

You could be forgiven if he sat out Saturday’s trip to Watford out given the energy expelled – both physical and mental – for his country over the last week.

But as Garry Monk says, Williams is a machine. At the very least he’s a Welsh warrior.

PL minutes played since 2011/12

Ashley Williams (Swansea)13390

Joe Hart (Man City) 13230

Tim Howard (Everton) 13118

Simon Mignolet (Sunderland, Liverpool) 12997

Ryan Shawcross (Stoke) 12623

Steven N’Zonzi (Blackburn, Stoke) 12334

Branislav Ivanovic (Chelsea) 12166

Leighton Baines (Everton) 12003

James McCarthy (Wigan, Everton) 11893

Tim Krul (Newcastle) 11847

John O’Shea (Sunderland) 11807

Games played since 2011/12

Ashley Williams (Swansea) 149

Joe Hart (Man City) 147

Tim Howard (Everton) 147

Simon Mignolet (Sunderland, Liverpool) 145

Jack Colback (Sunderland, Newcastle) 142

Ryan Shawcross (Stoke) 142

Jonathan Walters (Stoke) 142

Sebastian Larsson (Sunderland) 141

Jordan Henderson (Liverpool) 141

Branislav Ivanovic (Chelsea) 141

Steven N’Zonzi (Blackburn, Stoke) 141

Williams’ Wales partners (appearances with Williams)

James Collins - 15

Craig Morgan - 15

Lewin Nyatanga - 12

Darcy Blake - 12

Sam Ricketts - 5

James Chester - 5

Ben Davies - 5

Danny Gabbidon - 4

Chris Gunter - 4

Steve Evans - 1

*Stats thanks to Opta