'A minimum of six weeks' - Wrexham dealt bitter injury blow as manager Phil Parkinson confirms lengthy lay-off for first-team star signed by Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney

The 22-year-old keeper was instrumental in preserving Wrexham’s 1-0 lead over Mansfield last weekend but ended the match with pain in his wrist. Subsequently, he was sent for scans and the results have revealed a fracture which will keep him out of action for over a month.

Speaking to reporters, Parkinson revealed: "We had some bad news when we had to send Arthur Okonkwo for a scan after he damaged his wrist on Saturday. Unfortunately, he has broken his wrist and is going to be out for a minimum of six weeks."

During their last outing against Port Vale in the EFL Trophy, Parkinson opted for a heavily rotated lineup, fielding a team distinctly different from the one that clinched the weekend victory over Mansfield. And in the absence of Okonkwo, he alternated between two goalkeepers during the match: Callum Burton took charge in the first half, while Mark Howard filled in during the second.

“Our fans might have found it unusual that we split the game time between two keepers on Tuesday,” Parkinson explained, “but this was pre-planned, in terms of giving them both some gametime, but also to protect Callum a little bit as well. I feel for Arthur, he’s in good form, but we’ve got two experienced goalkeepers ready and waiting.”

In Tuesday’s match, Will Boyle, who was initially selected as captain, had to be replaced just before kickoff after he injured his calf during the warm-up. Max Cleworth took over both Boyle’s position and captaincy for the game. Adding to Wrexham’s misfortune, wing-back Luke Bolton, who recently returned from a foot injury, exited the match just 12 minutes in with another calf problem.

Asked about about their latest status, Parkinson said: "Unfortunately, we picked up two injuries on the night – Luke Bolton and Will Boyle – and both look like 4-5 week lay-offs, which is obviously frustrating."

The manager also provided an update on other players dealing with injuries, including George Evans, James Jones, Steven Fletcher, and Jack Marriott. He added: "George Evans is making good progress, James Jones is still a couple of weeks away from joining in training with a foot injury, and Steven Fletcher trained last week but has had a slight setback and he’s seeing a specialist today so we’ll know more after that. Jack Marriott has been with the group, but as everyone knows that’s going to take time. It’s good to have him back in and around the ground with the lads though.”

With Okonkwo and several others sidelined Wrexham now face the challenge of regrouping ahead of their upcoming League One match against Stockport on Saturday.