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Phil Parkinson says Wrexham defender Liberato Cacace has been "really unlucky" with his injury troubles since arriving at the club a year ago.
The Red Dragons shattered their transfer record by spending $2.97 million to bring Cacace in from Serie A outfit Empoli, with expectations running high for the New Zealand international.
Cacace made a strong impression in Wrexham's first Championship fixture in 43 years against Southampton before a thigh problem sidelined him for four games. He came back to help the Red Dragons beat Millwall for their maiden win of the campaign, but lasted only 77 minutes before picking up another knock — one of four setbacks he would endure throughout his debut season in North Wales.
The defender managed just 13 appearances across all competitions, with a five-game stretch in late fall representing his longest injury-free run in the side. Cacace returned to full fitness to represent New Zealand in three games at the World Cup over the summer and featured in every match of the club's US preseason tour before suffering yet another fitness blow.
Liberato Cacace Injury Latest
Cacace was initially ruled out of Wrexham's season opener against Middlesbrough due to fatigue, but has since missed their first five league outings, along with the Carabao Cup first-round defeat to Boro.
The 25-year-old will remain unavailable when the Red Dragons host Burnley in the Championship on Tuesday evening, and manager Parkinson says he has a great deal of sympathy for the player.
"He's a great lad; he's honest. He's just been really, really unlucky and sometimes pushed himself back too soon after an injury. He's getting there, but we just need to be patient," Parkinson said at his prematch press conference.
"Sometimes you can overanalyze injuries, but of course we have looked into the reasons behind it. Libby came here with no injury history whatsoever; that's what makes it so frustrating. The intensity level is higher than Serie A in a lot of these matches.
"The bottom line is he has had a few muscle injuries, so we need to give him plenty of time now. Make sure he has the right amount of training time to give him the best possible chance of being involved."
Wrexham Team News vs. Burnley
Wrexham go into the game on the back of an encouraging week that saw them claim a victory at Millwall for their first win of the season before holding early table-toppers Swansea City to a draw in their most recent outing.
They cannot afford to take anything for granted against the side sitting at the foot of the Championship, but could receive a lift from the potential returns of key pair Ben Sheaf and Nathan Broadhead.
"We'll make a decision on them tomorrow," the Wrexham boss added. "They both came through today fine. Broady has only been out for a couple of weeks. I thought he had a really good preseason, to be honest. He showed some really impressive quality.
"The goal just didn't quite come for him — the keepers made some excellent saves and he struck the bar — but his overall play and link-up work was really good. He's had seven or ten days out, but he's done some work over the weekend and rejoined the group today."