Wrexham face Manchester United in Helsinki on Saturday in their first encounter since playing against each other in preseason games in California two years ago. This provides another opportunity for Wrexham to gauge their mettle against the Premier League outfit, though there are many fans who will be reminded of the game during which Paul Mullin sustained the lung puncture injury that saw him miss the start of his League Two campaign.
This match, which took place in San Diego at the Snapdragon Stadium, was expected to mark yet another defining moment in Wrexham’s storybook progression under Phil Parkinson, Ryan Reynolds, and Rob McElhenney, but the focus soon turned elsewhere.
Within a matter of minutes into the game, Paul Mullin went after a through ball only to clash with the Manchester United goalkeeper Nathan Bishop, resulting in the striker sustaining a punctured lung.
A summer setback nobody expected
Hardly any players entered the summer of 2023 with as much momentum as Mullin.
Scoring 47 goals and helping Wrexham qualify for the Football League, he had become the linchpin of Parkinson’s squad and one of the most recognizable faces of the club’s Hollywood saga. The level of anticipation before the start of League Two was quite natural, however, everything changed within seconds.
It turned out to be a serious injury according to Parkinson who stated this after the game while Reynolds called Bishop’s challenge reckless on social media. The defender himself apologized for his actions insisting there was never any intention to harm Mullin who played for Wrexham.
According to McElhenney, Mullin will recover in Los Angeles where he owns a house. It shows how close the club owners are to its star player.
In any case, the question of Mullin’s wellbeing was the primary one, but the injury also influenced the preparation of Wrexham to the start of the league.
Parkinson faced the necessity of getting used to his team without the main striker while the fans followed the progress of his recovery during the first weeks of the new season.
Once he came back, however, he managed to rediscover his instincts which made him one of the most effective forwards in the lower divisions. His goals helped Wrexham to earn another promotion, thus making the punctured lung another obstacle to be overcome during his career.
Back together in very different circumstances
The upcoming match between these sides will be held under completely different circumstances.
Wrexham is not getting ready for the first season in the English football league system anymore. On the contrary, Parkinson’s side is looking forward to playing in the Championship after another amazing success in rising through the divisions.
Pre-season matches are usually forgotten pretty quickly; however, the last time Wrexham played against this team was memorable for their fans for quite a peculiar reason. Not because of the score or the atmosphere but simply because of the fact that their star player could get sidelined right when everything was going so well in his career.
Fortunately for Wrexham, Mullin’s story ended not in San Diego. It became one more obstacle in the course of writing his own success story.
About The Author
