Wales C boost as Wrexham players withdraw from England squad

Wrexham manager Phil Parkinson has revealed that two of his players have pulled out of the England C squad.

The Three Lions are due to play the Red Dragons at Caernarfon Town’s Oval on March 30 but will now be without two of the three Wrexham contingent whilst the other is in contention.

Prolific forward Paul Mullin and defender Aaron Hayden have both pulled out and will not play a part in the mid-season international.

Mullin and Hayden both featured in Wrexham’s dramatic 6-5 win over Dover Athletic, with the former opening the scoring.

Hayden also played with both players completing the whole match, playing through the pain barrier for their club.

“Mulls (Paul Mullin) and Aaron (Hayden) have pulled out,” revealed Parkinson to BBC Radio Wales in his post-match press conference.

“Aaron’s got a problem with his knee and he needs to rest. Mulls has had a couple of issues we need to get right.”

The 27-year-old has scored 15 goals in 27 appearances in the National League this season for Wrexham and has spent a majority of his career in the Football League, so his absence will come as a relief to Wales’ mainly semi-professional defence.

Experienced defender Ben Tozer is also a doubt and there will be a discussion over the weekend of whether he will play a part in Caernarfon.

Asked whether it is a positive given there is no midweek fixture scheduled for his side, he agreed and said: “It is a bit of an accolade to be called up. However, if we are honest it is a strange game to put a date in, we all know that.

“We’ll have a chat because Ben has taken a heavy knock and it’s one we’ll have a chat with him and decide.”

• Mark Jones names much-changed Wales C squad as Chris Venables not included

There was already some disruption to Paul Fairclough’s side with Stockport County duo Ryan Croasdale and Will Collar both withdrawing earlier on in the month to focus on their club duties.

Southend United’s Nathan Ralph was also forced to pull out as a quad strain sidelined him for the next six weeks. 

Ben Wynter and Armani Little, both of Torquay United have both been drafted in, as well as Matt Palmer from Notts County.