‘Really Unlucky’—The Truth Revealed About Wrexham's Injured World Cup Star

Phil Parkinson admits Wrexham defender Liberato Cacace has been “really unlucky” with injuries since joining the club a year ago.

The Red Dragons broke their transfer record when they spent $2.97 million to sign Cacace from Serie A side Empoli, with hopes high for the New Zealand international.

Cacace impressed in Wrexham's first Championship match in 43 years against Southampton before suffering a thigh issue that kept him out for four matches. He returned to help the Red Dragons defeat Millwall for their first win of the season, but lasted 77 minutes before suffering another setback — one of four he would experience during his debut season in North Wales.

The defender made just 13 appearances across all competitions, with a five-game run in late fall his longest spell in the team without injury. Cacace returned to full fitness to feature for New Zealand in three matches at the World Cup over the summer and played in every game of the club's US preseason tour before suffering another fitness setback.

Liberato Cacace Injury Latest

Liberato Cacace New Zealand poses during the official FIFA World Cup 2026 portrait session. — Cacace started three matches at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. | Richard Heathcote - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images

Cacace was initially ruled out of Wrexham's season opener against Middlesbrough because of fatigue, but has now missed their first five league matches, as well as the defeat to Boro in the first round of the Carabao Cup.

The 25-year-old will not be available when the Red Dragons host Burnley in the Championship on Tuesday night, and manager Parkinson admits he has plenty of sympathy for the player.

“He's a great lad; he's honest. He's just been really, really unlucky and sometimes pushed himself too quickly after an injury. He's getting there, but we've just got to be patient,” Parkinson said in his prematch press conference.

“Sometimes you can overanalyze injuries, but of course we have looked into the reasons for it. Libby came with no injury record at all; that's the frustrating thing. The intensity level is greater than Serie A in a lot of the games.

“The bottom line is he has had a few muscle injuries, so we need to now give him plenty of time. Make sure he's got the right amount of time training to give him the best chance of being a part of it.”

Wrexham Team News vs. Burnley

Nathan Broadhead of Wrexham during the Sky Bet Championship match between Cardiff City and Wrexham at Cardiff City Stadium. — Broadhead has fresh competition for his starting role after Wrexham signed Callum O'Hare last week. | Andrew Lewis/News Images/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Wrexham head into the match after an impressive week that saw them defeat Millwall away from home for their first win of the season before holding early league leaders Swansea City to a draw last time out.

They can't afford any complacency against the team rooted to the bottom of the Championship, but could be boosted by the return of key duo Ben Sheaf and Nathan Broadhead.

“We'll decide tomorrow with them,” the Wrexham manager added. “They both got through today okay. Broady has only been out a couple of weeks. I thought he had a really good preseason, to be fair. He showed some really good quality.

“The moment of a goal didn't quite come for him, the keepers made some great saves; he hit the bar, but some of his play and buildup play was really good. He's had seven or 10 days out, but he's done some work over the weekend and joined in with the lads today.”

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