Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney face Christmas boost and blow at Wrexham
Wrexham AFC co-owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney have some bad Christmas news with the Welsh side set to be without midfielder George Evans for the rest of 2023 after the 29-year-old was given a red card against Colchester.
Evans was shown a yellow card 20 minutes into Wrexham's fixture with Colchester and just six minutes later, he was sent off. The midfielder will miss Wrexham's next three games, against Newport County, Swindon Town and Walsall as a result.
His next chance to play will be against Barrow at the Racecourse Ground, whom Wrexham just happen to be tied with second in the League Two table. With Evans set to miss a crucial set of games, Phil Parkinson was less than pleased with the referee's ruling.
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"The first one, I didn't think George should have gone in for that challenge," Wrexham's manager said after the win. "He has closed the lad down. The second one, I have only seen it from one angle so I can't see whether there was contact.
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"If there was contact, it is disappointing but the less said about the referee the better. George has been brilliant for us and it is the first sending off of his career."
Despite the news of Evans' dampening some of Wrexham's steam, the club received some welcomed news as it was announced that striker Steven Fletcher will be returning to action and goalkeeper Arthur Okonkwo is back in training. Both Fletcher and Okonkwo had been dealing with injuries requiring surgery and have been recovering since.
George Evans will miss the rest of Wrexham's games in 2023 due to a red card. (Photo by Charlotte Tattersall/Getty Images)Fletcher signed to Wrexham on Sept. 8 and underwent surgery on his knee in late October. The 36-year-old had been playing with a knee injury and attempting to power through before ultimately deciding to undergo surgery, which was projected to keep him sidelined until 2024.
Parkinson said to the press that Fletcher and Ryan Barnett are being assessed in training and it is "good" to see them back on the pitch. "The good thing for Flectch is that when he joined us, he came in without a pre-season and this injury has allowed us an opportunity for the medical team to do a lot of fitness work with him," Parkinson explained.
Meanwhile, Okonkwo suffered a jaw injury in Wrexham's 2-2 draw with Harrogate Town in late November. Wrexham's boss revealed that the 22-year-old had been with the club for some time and will be monitoring how he fares in training and seeing what steps need to be taken moving forward.
"He hasn't trained fully yet, just non-contact, but he is getting his handling back going and his kicking," Parkinson said regarding Okonkwo. "We are gradually easing him back in but it's good to get him back up here and it's good to get him back involved with the lads again."
Though losing Evans will affect how Wrexham operates for the next three fixtures, the Welsh side will surely take getting their striker and goalkeeper back healthy and playing again, which can only bode well for Reynolds and McElhenney.
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