Striker Paul Mullin was hospitalized with a punctured lung after a collision with Manchester United goalkeeper Nathan Bishop in a friendly on Tuesday night.
Wrexham won 3-1 in front of a record crowd of 34,248 at San Diego’s Snapdragon Stadium in the third of four matches on a US tour.
Mullin was attempting a header when Bishop challenged him just outside the box in the 11th minute and the two went down. Mullin immediately grabbed his head with his right hand and his left hip with his left hand, and was clearly in pain. He was down for about 7 minutes.
Photo: AFP
A stretcher and a cart were sent out and Mullin was surrounded by medical personnel, but he eventually got up and slowly walked off with assistance while wearing an oxygen mask.
Manager Phil Parkinson called it a small puncture and said the team did not immediately know how long Mullin would be out.
Ryan Reynolds, who owns Wrexham with fellow actor Rob McElhenney, wrote on Twitter that “Paul Mullin puts his last drop of blood into everything he does” and that the entire Wrexham community was hoping for a speedy recovery.
Photo: Orlando Ramirez-USA Today
“Obviously it’s a massive blow for us,” Parkinson said. “Injuries are part and parcel of football and you’ve got to deal with them as a group and we’ll come out stronger.”
The regular season starts on Aug. 5 for the Welsh club, which recently earned promotion to English soccer’s fourth tier.
Bishop was not injured and was booed every time he touched the ball after the collision.
“I’m fuming,” Parkinson said. “It was a clumsy, reckless challenge, pre-season game. I’m not happy with it at all.”
Wrexham supporters often serenade their team’s best player with a song called Super Paul Mullin.
There was no score when Mullin was hurt. Wrexham scored twice in a seven-minute span and led 2-1 at halftime.
“The way the lads responded after that I thought was honestly outstanding,” Parkinson said.
Wrexham, the oldest club from Wales, finish their tour on Saturday against Philadelphia Union II.
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