Wrexham really do have very little luck when it comes to their goalkeepers.
Rob Lainton’s horrid injury record was well covered throughout his time at the club, with fans of the ‘Welcome to Wrexham‘ documentary getting a clear insight into what he went through.
The goalkeeper suffered three separate injuries during his time in Wales, seeing him miss a total of 97 games for Wrexham.
While Lainton is no longer with the Red Dragons, their record with keepers is still pretty bad.
Arthur Okonkwo is out with a wrist injury after starting the current season as the club’s number-one option between the sticks.
This saw Callum Burton called upon to replace the former Arsenal man in Wrexham’s last four league matches.
Phil Parkinson dubbed Burton ‘excellent’ after he made his League One debut in the defeat to Stockport County.
He then went on to keep clean sheets in Wrexham’s following two games and started on Tuesday versus Barnsley.
Phil Parkinson issues Callum Burton injury update after Wrexham vs Barnsley
However, the 28-year-old played just 23 minutes of the midweek meeting before he was forced off.
It didn’t look great for the keeper, with Phil Parkinson providing a Burton injury update immediately after the game.
He said: “It looks like a thigh strain so he’ll go straight for a scan.
“We won’t know more until the result of that scan comes in, it will probably be lunchtime tomorrow.”
With Okonkwo already out of action, Wrexham now have just Mark Howard as their only senior fit goalkeeper going into the weekend’s meeting with Burton.
Should anything now happen to Howard, one EFL rule means the Red Dragons are going to be pretty screwed when it comes to their goalkeeper department.
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EFL rule deals Wrexham blow amid Callum Burton wait
If Howard indeed picks up some form of knock, Wrexham cannot really replace the 38-year-old for a substantial period of time.
This is because emergency loan rules for goalkeepers only come into force if ‘all the professional goalkeepers at a club are unavailable’.
A ‘professional goalkeeper’ is classed as a player who has been named in the starting eleven on five or more occasions for a Premier League or EFL club in any competition – barring the Vertu Trophy.
In turn, fourth-choice option Liam Hall doesn’t class as a professional keeper, meaning the Red Dragons can only move for a seven-day loan if anything happens to Howard.
Parkinson is therefore no doubt praying Burton’s injury is a short one but for the time being, his return timeframe remains unknown.