Phil Parkinson has revealed his immediate plans for Wrexham striker Paul Mullin after he returned to the pitch in the win over Reading.
It’s been a difficult summer for Paul Mullin, who has spent most of his time recovering from minor spinal surgery while watching his Wrexham teammates flourish in League One.
Wrexham scored three goals in the absence of Mullin to see off Wycombe Wanderers, secured a goalless draw away at Bolton Wanderers and then a comfortable 3-0 win over Reading.
Ollie Palmer, Elliot Lee and Andy Cannon were the scorers in that win against the Royals while Rob McElhenney praised Ryan Barnett’s performance.
But the most positive news to come from that match was seeing Mullin return to the pitch, replacing Jack Marriott for the final 16 minutes.
It was fantastic to see the Liverpudlian back on the field and Phil Parkinson has since shared his verdict on the striker moving forward.
Phil Parkinson shares clear plan for Wrexham striker Paul Mullin
Unlike the rest of his teammates, Mullin hasn’t had a proper pre-season to get up to speed and has instead been working on a rehabilitation programme.
It meant the 29-year-old missed the Wrex Coast Tour of the United States but having returned to the squad, Parkinson has explained how ‘important’ it was to give him some game time.
Wrexham had the luxury of bringing him on when they were 3-0 up and now the manager wants to see how he progresses in training this week.
Speaking to The Leader, Parkinson said: “It was important to get Paul a little bit of game-time. Obviously, it was never going to be more than that because he knows he has got not a long road ahead but he has got work to do.
“But it gives us another week now with Paul, a tough week with him on the training ground and see if he can go that step closer to being involved again next week.
“Go back to the summer when we got the news about the operation, obviously it was a setback but we felt it was the right decision.
“Paul missed a lot of pre-season, but now we have got a free week again to work with him. You can see each day he is getting stronger and he is getting sharper.
“When he came on, I thought he contributed greatly for us, and it is great for him because no player likes being injured, especially when you are starting the season in a new division.”
The biggest losers from Paul Mullin’s return
Mullin’s return to action is a big boost for Wrexham when they’re already flying high in the third tier.
Of course, fans will be delighted to see their most important player available for selection, but there are a few players who could see their game time impacted.
After all, it won’t be a long time before Mullin starts regularly once more and spearheads Wrexham’s attack.
The one player who will be affected most by this is Marriott, who has deputized while the Liverpudlian recovered from his injury.
Marriott has mainly partnered with Palmer in attack and that little and large combination has worked well, although Mullin will most definitely replace the former Derby striker when fully fit.
Likewise, fellow forwards Sam Dalby and Jake Bickerstaff are also set to suffer by Mullin’s return, with the pair already struggling to make a matchday squad as it is.
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