Josh for me is a fantastic guy and he’s a fantastic player. So that he don’t play then we will do him a favour another day.
Josh Windass is one of the 10 players to have arrived at Wrexham this summer, and one of the few to have arrived on a free transfer.
All the talk this summer has been about Wrexham’s spending, and it’s no wonder why after on Thursday evening Wrexham confirmed the signing of Callum Doyle from Manchester City in a deal that has cost owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac £8 million.
And before Doyle it was Nathan Broadhead. Wrexham broke their club record transfer to sign Broadhead for £10 million from Championship rivals Ipswich Town. It takes Wrexham’s summer spending beyond the £30 million mark.
But Windass arrived for nothing and he could well prove to be one of the best signings this summer. On his debut, Windass scored as Wrexham lost 2-1 against Southampton. But in the follow-up Championship game against West Brom, Windass picked up a muscle injury and the 31-year-old has since been ruled out for up to six weeks.
It’s a real blow for Windass and a real blow for manager Phil Parkinson too. And it rules out a potential reunion against Windass’ former club Sheffield Wednesday this weekend.
Photo by James Gill – Danehouse/Getty ImagesSheffield Wednesday manager gives his verdict on Josh Windass
Windass is a modern-day legend at Sheffield Wednesday. In 182 total appearances for the Owls, Windass scored 53 goals, including the winner as Sheffield Wednesday won promotion from League One back in 2023. But amid Sheffield Wednesday’s off-field struggles under owner Dejphon Chansiri, Windass was one of the many who chose to leave the club as a free agent this summer, eventually joining Wrexham on a four-year deal.
Now ruled out for possibly up to two months, Sheffield Wednesday’s new boss Henrik Pedersen has been discussing Windass, whom he worked with whilst number two to Danny Rohl, and Pedersen hailed Windass’ Championship quality and also Windass as a person.
Pedersen said when asked about his former player: “Josh for me is a fantastic guy and he’s a fantastic player. So that he don’t play then we will do him a favour another day.”
Wrexham’s current injury list ahead of Sheffield Wednesday game
Wrexham unfortunately boast a pretty sizeable injury list right now, despite it only being two games into the new season. During the summer, Ollie Rathbone picked up an ankle injury during the pre-season tour of Australia and New Zealand, and seems to face a bit longer on the sidelines yet.
Meanwhile, joining Rathbone and Windass on the sidelines is another summer signing in George Thomason. Earlier in the pre-season, it was revealed that Thomason has a thigh injury which will keep him out for a while, whilst Jay Rodriguez and Andy Cannon also remain sidelined.
Also, Liberato Cacace missed Wrexham’s game against West Brom with what was described as a minor knock, but the Kiwi has since been selected in New Zealand’s upcoming international team, and so whether or not Cacace features this weekend remains to be seen.
Losing Windass though is certainly a blow, but thankfully for Parkinson he signed a wealth of quality Championship attackers this summer, and this weekend will no doubt mean the full debut of Broadhead following his £10m signing.