Wrexham boost as quartet close in on returns

Kieffer Moore, Matty James, Issa Kabore and Max Cleworth are all closing in on a return to action to bolster Phil Parkinson's options for Wrexham's Championship run-in.

Moore has missed three successive matches due to a hamstring issue while James and Cleworth were left out of the squad for the Red Dragons' FA Cup third round win over Nottingham Forest due to back and tendon issues respectively.

Kabore was absent for two months with a hamstring injury but featured for Burkina Faso in their final match at the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) and has since returned to north Wales.

"Today in training was about looking at the lads back on the pitch who'd missed a bit of training," said Parkinson.

"There's a couple who still weren't out there.

"There's nothing serious from Friday, but there was a lot of fatigue in that game and there's a couple who've carried little niggles from that."

Having played five matches in 15 days after Christmas, including extra-time and penalties against Forest, Parkinson has been eager to rotate his squad where possible.

He believes midfielder James and central defender Cleworth will both have benefitted from missing the FA Cup win over Sean Dyche's side.

"Max and Matty needed that break," added Parkinson.

"Matty had an injection in his back on Friday. Max has been carrying on with a problem in his tendon for a while and we needed to use the cup game to take him out of the firing line. He's trained today and he looked good."

Sam Smith netted in Wrexham's away wins against Blackburn Rovers and Derby County during top scorer Moore's time on the sidelines.

But Parkinson feels keeping the Wales international out of the Forest fixture will have benefited him going into the club's final 20 league games of the campaign.

"Kieffer, I think if we'd had a couple of days, the weather wouldn't have been so bad leading up to the Nottingham Forest game and we'd had a couple more days on the grass, he'd have probably been close to at least being on the bench," explained Parkinson.

"But that's given us the opportunity to work with him on the training pitch this week. He comes back into the group refreshed, and I think that's important for us."

Kabore - who has not featured for Wrexham since their 1-0 win over Charlton Athletic on 8 November - is expected to be available soon, potentially for Saturday's home league fixture with Norwich City (15:00 GMT).

"Issa's had his minutes away at the back end of the Afcon," said Parkinson.

"He needs, this week, training to see where he is. But his character is there for all to see. He's chomping at the bit."

Wrexham made the most of their eight days without a competitive fixture by facing Premier League Liverpool in a behind-closed-doors friendly on Tuesday.

Long-term absentee Andy Cannon was among those involved on Merseyside, although the match came too soon for the likes of Elliot Lee, Lewis Brunt, Danny Ward and Aaron James.

"We had a great game against Liverpool on Tuesday which was important for us for lads like Andy Cannon who hadn't played for a long time," said Parkinson.

"The effort again, and the work of some of the young lads, supplemented by the older boys, I felt the club was represented really well at Liverpool and that meant just as much to us [as the Forest win].

"Wardy didn't play in that game because it just was a tiny bit too soon for him. It's great for Callum Burton to have a game and he was excellent.

"Aaron James and Brunty, the game just came a bit too soon for those two, and Elliot Lee.

"At some point we've got to get some more in-house games for those three and obviously Wardy.

"It's just important that they're ready when called upon and I think the game against Liverpool on Tuesday was a great preparation for any of those players if they're called upon."