Wrexham suffer 'real blow' ahead of Portsmouth's visit to Racecourse Ground
Pompey travel to Wrexham in the Championship on Tuesday night
Wrexham have been dealt an injury blow ahead of Pompey’s visit to the Racecourse Ground on Tuesday night.
The Dragons’ impressive 5-3 home win against Ipswich Town on Saturday propelled them back into the play-off places with 13 games of the season remaining.
Yet their victory against a fellow promotion-chasing side came at a cost and will force manager Phil Parkinson into a selection rethink for the visit of John Mousinho’s side.
Injury to Ben Sheaf
Wrexham’s rise to serious Premier League promotion contenders has been helped in no small part by Ben Sheaf.
Signed from current Championship leaders Coventry for a reported £6.5m on the final day of the 2025 summer transfer window, the midfielder has been a key figure for Parkinson as he bids to steer the club to the top flight of English football for the very first time.
The 28-year-old has been a mainstay in Wrexham’s engine room since his arrival and was making his 29th appearance for the club when he was named in the starting XI for the game against the Tractor Boys.
However, the former Arsenal youngster’s latest appearance would last just 16 minutes as he suffered a medial ligament injury and was immediately withdrawn.
The home side were already 1-0 at this stage thanks to Kieffer Moore’s sixth-minute opener. And while Ipswich equalised within four minutes of Sheaf being taken off, it was the Dragon’s who emerged victorious from the eight-goal thriller,
Parkinson said the injury suffered by the midfielder took the gloss of the win. And he was right to be concerned, with the experienced campaigner potentially missing the rest of the season.
‘I didn’t feel it was going to be good news’
‘Ben's not looking good, and it's a real blow for us,’ said Parkinson.
‘As much as there was an excitement after winning from myself and the staff's point of view, I always had that in the back of my mind.
‘I didn't feel it was going to be good news, and he sees a specialist tonight in London, but the initial prognosis is it's a ten-week injury.
‘He damaged his medial ligament and Ben's really unlucky because it was just a blocked tackle and he just opened up his knee.
‘But things happen like that in football and injuries are part and parcel for the individual and for the squad as a whole, and we move on.
‘Ben will get the best possible treatment and come back strong but from our point of view, it's opportunities for other players.’
Former Charlton midfielder George Dobson replaced Sheaf in the Wrexham midfield on Saturday and will likely start against Pompey.
The Blues, meanwhile, will welcome Conor Chaplin back for the game in north Wales after he missed the past the Blues past three games with a groin injury.
The last meeting between the two sides ended in a goalless draw at Fratton Park back in November.
At present 13 places separate the two teams, with Pompey 12 points worse off than their hosts despite picking up back-to-back away wins in their past two games.