Wrexham have confirmed a 28-man squad for their upcoming three-match tour of the United States.
The Red Dragons depart on Wednesday morning ahead of a clash with Leeds United in Tampa on Saturday. Phil Parkinson’s side will then face Liverpool in New York next Wednesday before taking on Sunderland in Philadelphia the following Sunday in their final official preseason fixture.
Parkinson has already confirmed that Wrexham's Carabao Cup first-round tie against Middlesbrough will effectively serve as an additional preseason game ahead of the new Championship campaign. That match could provide potential debuts for any summer signings, although the club has still yet to make its first addition of the transfer window.
Wrexham’s U.S. Tour Squad
The tour squad is largely unchanged from the group that finished seventh in the Championship last season, with several key players returning from injury.
Max Cleworth, Ben Sheaf and Josh Windass have all traveled after missing the opening two preseason friendlies with minor injuries, while Liberato Cacace is also included after being granted an extended break following his involvement with New Zealand at the World Cup.
Wrexham expect all four players to be available against Leeds United this weekend, although Elliot Lee and Ryan Longman are expected to miss the match through injury.
Lee appeared to have played his final game for the club when he was left out of the squad that defeated Manchester United after featuring against Wisła Kraków, but he could yet make a surprise appearance during the U.S. tour.
The midfielder is still expected to leave Wrexham later this summer and is not the only player whose future appears elsewhere.
Ryan Hardie misses the trip because of a thigh strain and has been told he is free to find a new club. Conor Coady is also absent despite featuring in Wrexham's first two preseason matches. The former England international spent the second half of last season on loan at Charlton Athletic and is expected to leave on another temporary deal, with his wages making a permanent transfer difficult. Seb Revan has not featured in any match this summer due to injury and is also expected to leave later in the window.
| Position | Players |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | Burton, Okonkwo, Ward. |
| Defenders | Brunt, Cacace, Cleworth, Doyle, Hyam, A.James, Scarr, Vyner. |
| Midfielders | Ashfield, Barnett, Dobson, M.James, Lee, Longman, A.Moore, O’Brien, Rathbone, Sheaf, Thomason. |
| Attackers | Broadhead, Cadamarteri, Keillor-Dunn, K.Moore, Smith, Windass. |
What Phil Parkinson Said
Speaking after confirming his touring squad, Parkinson said: “It’s good today that we’ve got Windass, Sheaf, Cacace and Max all back into a practice game, which they needed because, obviously, when it comes to Saturday, we’re expecting them all to play some minutes.
“Ryan Longman will be back in full training when we get to America. He’s just had a slight problem. Ryan Hardie, unfortunately, is going to miss the trip. He had a thigh strain, which is a setback for him.
“Elliot Lee has a minor injury, but he’s going to come on the trip because we feel he should be in contention for the second game. Equally, we want to keep Elliot with us because physically he’s in good shape and, even if he doesn’t get many minutes out there, it will be important for him to continue training and maintain his fitness.
“There are still players on slightly different schedules. Cacace is just a little behind Dom [Hyam], who got his 45 minutes at the weekend. Cacace stayed back here and had a hard training session. Windass has been back on the grass all last week and joined full training this week, so we’ll assess him closer to kickoff.
“Sheaf has trained this week as well, so the plan is to give those players some minutes at the weekend. But we’ll get through these next few days first and see how everybody is when we arrive in Tampa.
“Planning is really important, but that’s down to myself and the rest of the staff to make sure everybody is ready for whatever minutes they’re given. Equally, players need to be stretched because when we come back we’ll roll straight into the Middlesbrough game, and then nine days later we’ve got Cardiff away.”
| Date | Opponent | Venue |
|---|---|---|
| July 25 | Leeds United | Raymond James Stadium, Tampa |
| July 29 | Liverpool | Yankee Stadium, New York |
| Aug. 2 | Sunderland | Subaru Park, Philadelphia |
