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Jacob Mendy is set to return to Wrexham from AFCON duty after The Gambia failed to make it out of the group stages of the tournament.

Wrexham have had to cope without Mendy after the defender was called up to The Gambia squad for AFCON 2023. However, the 27-year-old is now set to return to his club side after The Gambia made an early exit from the tournament. Wednesday’s 3-2 defeat to Cameroon saw the Scorpions fail to make the group stages as they finished bottom of Group C with zero points from three games. Manager Tom Saintfiet also resigned from his role straight after the defeat.

The result means that Mendy will now head back to Wrexham and could be available for some key games. The Red Dragons take on Championship side Blackburn Rovers next in the fourth round of the FA Cup and will then continue their promotion push against strugglers Salford City. Wrexham currently sit two points behind leaders Stockport County afer 27 games played.

• Mendy became the first ever Wrexham player to feature at AFCON when he played for The Gambia against Guinea. The 27-year-old played twice at the tournament overall, having been left on the bench for The Gambia’s 3-0 loss against Senegal on matchday two.

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  WHAT NEXT FOR WREXHAM?

  Mendy’s return will be warmly welcomed by Wrexham, particularly as manager Phil Parkinson is having to deal with a raft of injuries. Anthony Forde, Tom O’Connor, Steven Fletcher and Andy Cannon all missed the defeat to Newport last time out, while Jordan Davies , Aaron Hayden and Jordan Tunnicliffe have also been dealing with knocks. The Red Dragons have also admitted to frustration in the transfer market, with top targets being “hard to get”.