Liberato Cacace, Ben Sheaf and Josh Windass will undergo assessment before Wrexham's Championship fixture against Watford on Saturday at 15:00, manager Phil Parkinson has confirmed.
All three players were absent from Wrexham's EFL Cup first-round defeat to Middlesbrough and the 1-1 draw in their Championship opener at Cardiff City on Monday evening due to injury concerns. Parkinson indicated there remains a possibility the trio could feature in some capacity against the Hornets at the Racecourse Ground.
There's a possibility. They're not 100% where they need to be, but it's a possibility,Parkinson said.
Each of those three are at a different stage and I'll just leave it at that for now.
What is the injury status of each player?
The three players are at varying stages of their recovery. Cacace featured in all three of New Zealand's group stage matches at the World Cup during the summer, which has affected his preparation time. Sheaf and Windass have both experienced disrupted schedules during the close season, though both have managed some training work.
Regarding Sheaf's condition, Parkinson explained the midfielder has accumulated reasonable training volume despite minor injuries that took longer than expected to resolve.
I think with Ben, he's had quite a decent volume of training. When he's been recovering from his injuries, and they're very minor injuries, he had niggly things which just took a bit longer to clear up than we wanted. But he's done a lot of work.
Windass has experienced a more interrupted preparation, with a period of involvement followed by a calf issue that required further recovery time.
With Josh, he's had a block in the middle where he was back involved and then his calf wasn't quite where it needed to be. So he's had blocks of training, so it's not like we're starting completely from a low base with him.
Who else is available for selection?
Wrexham have received positive news in midfield with Matty James available for the Watford fixture. The 35-year-old was substituted in the 75th minute of Monday's Welsh derby after experiencing thigh cramp, but has recovered sufficiently to be in contention.
How is Kieffer Moore performing after his injury struggles?
Striker Kieffer Moore opened his account for the season with the goal against his former club Cardiff. The Wales international, who has earned 54 caps for his country, scored 12 times before the turn of the year in his debut Wrexham campaign but managed only one goal in the second half of the previous season following hamstring and calf injuries.
Following the draw with Cardiff, Moore discussed making minor adjustments to his recovery routine to maintain fitness throughout the campaign. Parkinson revealed he held discussions with the forward during the summer to establish clear expectations and management protocols.
I had a great chat with him before the season started about how we want to operate with him this year, and our expectations from him as we, because he's a really good player,Parkinson said.
What we felt we could have done better getting to know him, managing him through the season, what we need from him out on the pitch as well and make sure we've got that understanding.
You couldn't be anything but impressed with Kieffer's performance on Monday night.
However, Parkinson noted that other attacking options are pushing hard for opportunities.
But equally, Smudger (Sam Smith) and Bailey [Cadamarteri] and players like that are pushing hard because they've both done well in pre-season.
Moore's fitness management comes as Wrexham look to build on their Championship campaign. The club will have learnt lessons from missing out on the play-offs last season, with Parkinson emphasizing the importance of sustained performance across the full campaign rather than the intense pressure that came with consecutive promotions.
