Injury-hit duo Collins and Collison both played their first competitive matches of the season for West Ham reserves in a 4-3 win against their West Brom counterparts.

Wales boss John Toshack named defender Collins on Monday in his squad for the forthcoming World Cup qualifiers against Liechtenstein in Cardiff on October 11 and Germany in Monchengladbach on October 15.

Although Collins has been in full training now for a few weeks, the reserve game was his first serious football since January when he needed surgery after suffering a bad cruciate knee injury.

It would have been a major gamble for Toshack if Collins, who captained the West Ham second string, had been asked to play an international without any previous match action.

However, Collins played for 69 minutes on Wednesday night without suffering any problems, and will now report for international duty next Monday.

Collison was also playing his first game of the season after knee trouble, and is now set to be involved in the Wales Under-21 team's UEFA Championship play-off against England.

The first leg will be played at Ninian Park on October 10, with the return at Villa Park four days later.

Collison missed the qualifying matches against Romania in August and has not played for his country since making his senior debut as a substitute against Holland in Rotterdam in June.

The midfielder played for the full 90 minutes against West Brom's reserves, and his return for the Wales youngsters will be a boost for Brian Flynn, who faces the toughest two matches of his reign as his team bid to reach next summer's finals in Sweden.