Wrexham suffered a rare defeat when they travelled to Barnsley for a New Year’s Day clash on Wednesday.
The Red Dragons had gone over a month without tasting defeat but a calamitous 20 minutes against the Yorkshire outfit ensured that changed this week.
Wrexham’s defending against Barnsley was poor in the first half, with Mark Howard and Eoghan O’Connell far from their best.
Up against it, Phil Parkinson then opted to bring on Steven Fletcher at the break, which did spark some life into the club’s attack.
Max Cleworth went on to score a late goal but still, Wrexham lost 2-1 to Barnsley and have dropped out of the automatic promotion places.
The Welsh outfit’s fortunes may have been different had a couple of regular starters been involved, however.
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Why Elliot Lee, Lewis Brunt and Modou Faal missed Barnsley vs Wrexham
Elliot Lee, Modou Faal and Lewis Brunt were all left out of the matchday squad by Parkinson despite featuring just a few days prior.
Lee’s importance to Wrexham was highlighted in the defeat, with the away side lacking any real attacking threat from midfield without him.
As for Brunt, he has been superb at the back recently and could have prevented some of the mistakes made in the first half against Barnsley.
Now, speaking to the club’s media post-match, the Wrexham manager has explained why Lee, Brunt and Faal all missed the midweek loss.
He said: “Mo Faal was ill this morning in the hotel, that was a shame. Elliot [Lee] felt his hamstring after his substitute appearance on the 29th and Brunty [Lewis Brunt] has got a slight calf injury.”
How Wrexham could replace Lewis Brunt vs Peterborough United
Though not confirmed right now, there’s a chance Brunt will once again miss out this weekend.
Wrexham host Peterborough United on January 4th and that’s now a must-win game if they want to keep pace with the top two.
However, their backline was clearly much weaker without Brunt in the team, with Thomas O’Connor struggling upon his return to the eleven.
As a result, Parkins should look to bring summer signing Dan Scarr back into the starting lineup for the first time in over a month.
Alternatively, youngster Aaron James could be handed a chance to shine after impressing in the EFL Trophy so far this term.