Wrexham have received a timely boost in their bid to secure a Championship play-off spot
Wrexham manager Phil Parkinson has received a welcome boost in his quest to secure a Championship play-off spot as four players edge closer to returning from injury. Issa Kabore, Kieffer Moore, Matty James and Max Cleworth are all set to rejoin the squad after varying periods on the treatment table.
Their imminent comebacks mean they could all feature in the Wrexham boss’ strongest matchday squad as the club aims to challenge for promotion. Manchester City loanee Kabore has endured the lengthiest absence after sustaining a hamstring injury back in November.
The right wing-back did feature for Burkina Faso in their final Africa Cup of Nations fixture and has now resumed training with Wrexham. The 24-year-old was among the Red Dragons’ most impressive performers earlier in the campaign, with Parkinson previously describing his displays as “off the scale”.
Mirror Football – JOIN US ON FACEBOOK! Latest news, analysis and much more on Mirror Football’s Facebook page
Wales international Moore leads Wrexham’s scoring charts this season, netting 12 times in 25 outings across all competitions since his summer switch from Sheffield United. He has been absent from the team’s last three fixtures due to a hamstring complaint.
James and Cleworth missed Wrexham’s FA Cup third round win over Nottingham Forest last Friday with back and tendon problems respectively. It sparked rumours, later refuted by Parkinson, that academy product Cleworth might be departing the club after the defender was linked with a switch to Aston Villa.
READ MORE: Wrexham ace fined after admitting making 16 ‘naive and stupid’ bets on football matchesREAD MORE: Ryan Reynolds’ Wrexham secret weapon could be ‘best in Premier League’
Providing an update on his team, Parkinson said: “Today in training was about looking at the lads back on the pitch who’d missed a bit of training. There’s a couple who still weren’t out there.
“There’s nothing serious from Friday, but there was a lot of fatigue in that game and there’s a couple who’ve carried little niggles from that. Max and Matty needed that break.
“Matty had an injection in his back on Friday. Max has been carrying on with a problem in his tendon for a while and we needed to use the cup game to take him out of the firing line. He’s trained today and he looked good.
“Kieffer, I think if we’d had a couple of days, the weather wouldn’t have been so bad leading up to the Nottingham Forest game and we’d had a couple more days on the grass, he’d have probably been close to at least being on the bench.
“But that’s given us the opportunity to work with him on the training pitch this week. He comes back into the group refreshed, and I think that’s important for us.”
Regarding Kabore’s situation, he added: “Issa’s had his minutes away at the back end of the Afcon. He needs this week in training to see where he is. But his character is there for all to see. He’s chomping at the bit.”
Kabore himself has confessed his eagerness to get back into action for the Red Dragons.
In an interview with The Leader, the loanee said: “I am really happy to be back. I was very disappointed to get injured but that is football. Now it is very important to be back very soon.
“I am better now, I got some minutes in the national team to help my country as well. I am feeling good and I am excited to be back with Wrexham to try and get some results again.”
Wrexham are currently ninth in the Championship table, just a single point off the play-off spots, having won their last four league matches. After their stunning performance in the FA Cup last week, focus now shifts back to the league, with Norwich City set to visit the Racecourse Ground on Saturday.
