Wrexham fans are waiting anxiously to discover the extent of Ollie Rathbone’s injury, after the midfielder was forced off with injury in the last game against Sydney FC.
Last time out, Wrexham lost 2-1 against Sydney FC in what was their second friendly of the pre-season tour of Australia, coming after the Dragons’ opening 3-0 win over Melbourne Victory.
The game and the performance itself was a disappointing one for Phil Parkinson who rued the lack of quality from his side.
But perhaps the biggest issue stemming from the game was the injury to Ollie Rathbone, who was forced off in the first half after landing awkwardly on his ankle.
After the game, it was revealed that Rathbone went to hospital for an x-ray on his ankle, though nothing more has since been reported on the matter, as Wrexham fans wait to hear more news about last season’s Player of the Year.
Ollie Rathbone spotted in Wrexham training ahead of Wellington Phoenix
The Wrexham Down Under tour concludes in New Zealand on Saturday. The Dragons play Wellington Phoenix before returning home, where Parkinson will no doubt have more friendly fixtures lined up before Wrexham play Southampton on the opening day of the 2025/26 Championship season on August 9th.
Whether or not Rathbone makes that game remains to be seen. But fans may be intrigued to know that Rathbone has now been spotted in a training picture from New Zealand, and interestingly, he’s the only player wearing a coat: all the others are in training gear, seemingly ready to train.
One attentive Wrexham fan spotted it, posting: “Only him and [CEO Michael] Williamson in the big coats.” Whether or not it suggests that Rathbone wasn’t training or not remains unclear, but it’s certainly interesting, and slightly worrying.
What Wrexham boss Phil Parkinson said about Ollie Rathbone’s injury
When Rathbone came off against Sydney FC, there were a lot of concerned Wrexham fans on social media.
The 28-year-old was a key player for the Dragons last time round scoring eight goals from midfield, and potentially not having him for the start of the season would surely prove a real headache for Parkinson.
Speaking after the game, Parkinson revealed the mood in the Wrexham dressing room after Rathbone’s injury forced him off and to the hospital.
Parkinson said: “It’s a very quiet dressing room in there, because we’re concerned about Ollie. It didn’t look that bad an incident when it happened, but it swelled up instantly in the dressing room.
“Kev [Mulholland, Wrexham physio] has gone with him to the hospital and, yeah, we’ve just got to keep our fingers crossed.”
Given how Rathbone’s ankle swelled and how the above image suggests he wasn’t training ahead of Wellington Phoenix, it may be safe to assume that Rathbone does have an injury, though the severity of the injury remains to be confirmed by Parkinson this weekend.