Zak Vyner: Why Harambee Stars Defender May Not Play Again This Season

Kenyan defender Zak Vyner may have played his last game this season following a worrying update given by his Wrexham coach Phil Parkinson.

Vyner has been on the sidelines since early this month due to a groin injury, missing the last four games for his English Championship club, which is chasing a Premier League promotion playoff place, and it looks like he might not be back in time for the remainder of the campaign.

Parkinson, who has lauded the defender not just for his immense qualities but also his versatility, has confirmed that Vyner is still way behind schedule in his recovery and will definitely be out of their final regular season match against Middlesbrough on Saturday.

“Zak is a bit behind. Zak has had a problem with his groin. He injured it in a practice game after we played Southampton, which was a shame because he’d been doing really well,” Parkinson said as per the club’s in-house media.

“We had no Matty James, no Ben, and no George Dobson for a period, and Zak came in and did brilliantly for us.”

With Wrexham in a tight race, they must beat Middlesbrough to be certain of finishing sixth which is the final playoff promotion place, as Hully City are equally on 70 points but only behind on goal difference, heading into the final match.

If they fail to beat Middlesbrough, who also need a win to see if they can sneak into the Premier League automatically, then that would be the end of Wrexham’s promotion quest.

However, a win would put them in contention with the first leg of the promotion playoff pitting the sixth-placed side against those that finish third on May 8 and the second legs scheduled between May 11 and 12.

If Wrexham go all the way and qualify for the final, the decisive match will be played on May 23 and it is not certain if Vyner would have recovered by then.

Vyner, who joined Wrexham in January from boyhood club Bristol City, had been enjoying a good run, having played eight straight games, most of them as a central midfielder, before the injury struck.