Wrexham are through to the knockout stages of the EFL Trophy but Phil Parkinson was dealt another injury blow on Tuesday night.
The EFL Trophy took centre stage once again for Wrexham on Tuesday night as Phil Parkinson took his side to face Port Vale.
Wrexham were already through as wins over Salford City and Wolverhampton Wanderers Under-21’s had already booked a spot in the knockout stages.
Phil Parkinson initially announced 11 changes to his Wrexham side but was forced into a late change with Will Boyle suffering a problem in the warm-up.
Max Cleworth stepped up to take his place and appeared to have given Wrexham the win as he opened the scoring in the second half.
Port Vale grabbed a late leveller though with Wrexham taking a point before losing a fairly inconsequential penalty shootout at Vale Park.
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Phil Parkinson confirms Wrexham injury blow
Wrexham are through as group winners and could face Tranmere Rovers in the next round of the tournament.
Parkinson will be pleased with how his side got the job done on Tuesday night, but Boyle’s late blow was not the only injury problem.
Luke Bolton went off in the first half, with substitute Sebastian Revan replacing him in a ‘great’ performance.
Bolton has struggled for playing time this season but his presence on the bench against Mansfield Town on Saturday was certainly interesting.
The 25-year-old was given a chance against Port Vale but lasted less than 15 minutes before going off with an injury.
Parkinson has now told Wrexham’s official YouTube channel that both Boyle and Bolton are suffering with calf problems.
Parkinson added that this is a real blow as both players needed the game time after slow starts to the season, but now find themselves sidelined.
“We had a few setbacks,” said Parkinson.
“Boyley got injured in the warm-up, then Bolts has felt his calf as well, so a few setbacks on the night but we didn’t let it affect us.
“It wasn’t a precaution. Boyley has pulled his calf in the warm-up, he had a bit of a tight calf in the week but it was diagnosed as a kick really, we weren’t worried about it, then he’s pulled his calf.
“Bolts, the first time he sprinted, felt his go. That’s always a blow because we’ve got a lot of games coming up and two players down who needed the game tonight, more importantly,” he added.
Luke Bolton future will remain unclear
Bolton really needed to take a chance to shine with Ryan Barnett not only ahead of him in the pecking order, but arguably Wrexham’s most impressive player so far this season.
The former Manchester City talent has not even played a minute of League One action this season and he was actually looking set to leave over the summer.
Bolton was close to leaving Wrexham over the summer but the deal – with a mystery club – collapsed.
That means Bolton has remained at Parkinson’s disposal this season but injuries and the form of Barnett have seen him miss out.
Parkinson praised Bolton as a ‘dynamic’ player upon signing him in January but Barnett has taken his game to another level.
Maybe Bolton will carve out a role but Wrexham may still be open to offers for him come January having seen that summer move fall through.