STRIKER Lee Trundle is in line for a third suspension of the season after collecting a booking during last Friday's 3-2 defeat at Cardiff City.
It means that the Dragons' second top scorer will sit out what look likely to be two vital matches in their battle against relegation at home against Cambridge on April 6 and at Stoke City in 12 days' time. But he is available for the final game of a wretched campaign against Bournemouth at the Racecourse on April 20.
Trundle's caution at Ninian Park was his tenth of the season and triggers the automatic punishment, following an earlier one-game suspension and a three-match ban for his sending-off at Brentford in December.
The news was just what manager Denis Smith did not want to hear on the day it was confirmed that Kevin Sharp has picked up a three-match ban and Dan Bennett one match for their dismissals at Northampton Town a week last Saturday.
Neither player will be available for this weekend's home match against play-off hopefuls Huddersfield Town.
Wrexham's woeful disciplinary record this season has robbed them of key players at crucial stages of the season and it could yet get worse.
Playmaker Darren Ferguson might face disciplinary action as a result of comments he made to the referee at the Sixfields Stadium, although his aftermatch apology to the official will possibly save him from punishment.
Yesterday, Dragons' boss Smith admitted if it was confirmed Trundle's latest ban would be a major headache.
"He has had far too many bookings this season but it's something I can't do anything about at the moment," he said.
"It's not something I can deal with until it comes across my desk."
Focusing on Wrexham's continuing battle against relegation, Smith said last night's 2-0 reserve team defeat at Wolverhampton Wanderers provided an opportunity for senior players, including club captain Brian Carey, to stake their claims for a first-team recall at the weekend.
And he added: "Steve Thomas should be back in training in the morning after recovering from a strain and we need everyone available. After the results elsewhere at the weekend, it's still wide open. At other clubs who are down at the bottom, they will be saying the same thing because we are all in the same boat. But the best rewards in life never come easily and that's the way I prefer it to be.
"But we need to start winning games and the reserve team game is the start of our build-up to Saturday. We will be without Kevin Sharp and Dan Bennett so we have to make our plans without them.
"If we go for broke in the search for three points, there is a chance we could get run over so our system has to be right. Huddersfield play a 4-4-2 system which is what I would like to do, but our players are not best suited to that."
