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Wrexham are gearing up for their EFL Championship campaign, but they've been without the services of Sam Smith so far this summer. The January transfer played a key role in helping the Welsh side secure promotion to League One last season. The 27-year-old joined the club seven months ago from Reading in a club-record deal worth about £2 million. For Wrexham, he managed seven goals in 19 appearances as Phil Parkinson's side earned promotion to England's second tier. He scored two goals in a 3-0 win over Charlton Athletic in April that sealed Wrexham's place in the Championship. However, he has been missing from both of the opening pre-season friendlies in Australia. Smith is likely to play a key part for Wrexham this season after replacing Paul Mullin, so his absence isn't ideal at all. Wrexham have been in Australia for a pre-season tour, and Smith hasn't played a single minute of the last two matches. Parkinson has finally offered some clarity on his forward, revealing he has been struggling with an injury. The Welsh side, owned by Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mc Elhenney, beat Melbourne Victory and lost to Sydney FC. Wrexham face Wellington Phoenix next on Saturday, July 19, before kicking off their domestic campaign against Southampton on Saturday, August 9. So, Smith faces a race against time to be available for that. And speaking after the defeat to Sydney, Parkinson gave a detailed injury review of his squad and included Smith in it. He said: "We’ve got a few other injury concerns. Nothing major. You know, Jay Rodriguez obviously hadn’t played previously. Had a problem with his foot, and he was still feeling it. So we need to assess that quickly. “Hopefully, we get Ryan Hardie, Mo Faal close to being selected for the weekend because those two need some minutes. "Sam Smith’s still a bit behind that. We’ll just see how everybody is tomorrow. ” It's unclear what the problem with Smith is, but it must have been picked up in pre-season. This is because he played right up until the last day during the 2024/25 campaign. Smith's absence compounds Wrexham's recent injury issues, after Ollie Rathbone was taken to hospital in the defeat to Sydney FC. On the stroke of half-time, the 28-year-old went down in a lot of pain after a collision with a Sydney defender. Rathbone injured his left ankle following an awkward landing and looked to be in a lot of pain. The Dragons' star could be seen holding his ankle, and later hobbled off the pitch after receiving treatment from the team physio. Rathbone was later taken to the hospital to undergo an X-ray, the results of which are yet to be confirmed by the club. © 2025 talk SPORT Limited

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