Wrexham have suffered a major blow with striker Jack Marriott now set to miss the next four months through injury.
Wrexham grabbed a fine victory on Saturday afternoon by beating Rotherham United 1-0 away from home.
Paul Mullin scored the only goal of the game inside the first 30 seconds, converting Ryan Barnett’s cross from close range.
Wrexham stood firm to see out the game and leave Rotherham frustrated with boss Steve Evans unhappy at the refereeing on show.
Phil Parkinson won’t be too bothered about that, but will feel a little gutted to have lost one of his key attacking options.
Phil Parkinson on Jack Marriott injury and free agent stance
Wrexham have seen Jack Marriott go down with an injury.
Marriott will now miss four months of first team action after making a superb start to the season.
Marriott missed Saturday’s trip to Rotherham and some have wondered whether Wrexham will look to sign a free agent.
However, Parkinson has told The Leader that he has no plans to sign a free agent and will instead rely on his other strikers to step up.
“We have got an outstanding player in Mulls whose performance was brilliant and I thought Ollie was tremendous,” said Parkinson.
“Ollie worked tirelessly for the team and kept the ball at the top of the pitch which is so important. We have got options and if someone gets injured, another player gets the opportunity to step-up,” he added.
The free agent market doesn’t look all that appealing anyway.
Kemar Roofe is still available after leaving Rangers but his injury woes over the years mean he may not be the most reliable signing.
Admiral Muskwe, Connor Wickham and Jon Dadi Bodvarsson are all available too but are they really good enough for Wrexham right now?
We just don’t see a realistic free agent signing out there who makes sense for Wrexham and Parkinson’s stance is the right one.
Modou Faal role set to increase
That means Wrexham’s strikers will have to step up.
Mullin grabbed his first League One goal of the season on Saturday and looks ‘back to his best’ according to Parkinson.
Steven Fletcher impressed against Stevenage and will be called upon but Wrexham will now look for Modou Faal to step up too.
Signed from West Bromwich Albion on transfer deadline day, Faal has yet to feature in League One.
Wrexham have signed Faal as a project, a young player who can be developed into a first-team star in the years to come.
The giant striker is a little raw right now but scored an athletic goal against Wolverhampton Wanderers Under-21’s in the international break, winning Man of the Match.
Wrexham will now put faith in Faal to step up rather than sign a free agent and will hope that he make a big impact in Marriott’s absence.