Wrexham secured a vital three points against Sutton United on Tuesday night and in a match of many positives, there was one negative.
After losing four of their last six matches on the road, including a horrible 3-1 defeat to Salford City, Wrexham couldn’t afford another setback.
Despite riding their luck at times against a side that had been marooned to the bottom for months, Phil Parkinson’s men dug deep to secure three points late on.
Elliot Lee’s smart finish five minutes from time handed Wrexham their first three points in four matches as Ollie Palmer and Paul Mullin changed the game from the bench.
That duo were important to their late resurgence, as was the goalkeeping heroics of Arsenal loanee Arthur Okonkwo, who made an impressive six saves on the night.
Unfortunately, a night that had many positives was dampened by the update that Parkinson gave in his post-match press conference.
Phil Parkinson reveals the extent of George Evans’ injury
Speaking to the club’s official YouTube channel, the Wrexham boss was asked about how George Evans was after being substituted for Luke Young in the 64th minute.
He said: “George [Evans] has a bit of tightness in his glute, so we’ll have to assess that but we’ll get him back as quick as we can. Kev [Mulholland] and his team will be working on the players to get them to recover as quickly as possible.”
Evans is the most defensive-minded of Parkinson’s three midfielders and does an excellent job of reading the game and retaining possession for his side.
In League Two this term, the 29-year-old has averaged an impressive 5 balls recovered per game, 1.2 tackles and 1.6 clearances.
He plays an important role in winning possession back for his team, so it was disappointing to see him get substituted, but luckily his issue doesn’t sound too serious and he should be back for the Notts County match on Saturday.
If he isn’t, Luke Young will have to temporarily replace him.
Luke Young’s 23/24 stats
Similarly to Evans, Young is a defensive midfielder, whose role is to sit in front of the defence and dominate teams physically.
The 30-year-old will most likely replace his midfield compatriot next game after coming off the bench for him against Sutton.
Such is the quality of Evans, though, it’s difficult for the Wrexham captain to have the same impact on the side as he’s currently averaging fewer balls recovered per game (3.1), tackles (0.6), interceptions (0.5) and clearances (0.6).
Nonetheless, Parkinson will hope to have his starting midfielder fit, although it wouldn’t be the end of the world if Young had to play instead.