Wrexham star James McClean is ‘blessed and thankful’ to have walked away with minor injuries after crashing his car on the way to training this week.
The Ireland star went off road near to Wrexham Golf Club and police were quickly on the scene with eyewitnesses reporting significant damage to the footballer’s black Audi.
Despite being left with cuts and bruises, the veteran started the Welsh side’s crunch League One clash against Birmingham City on Thursday night.
Following the result, McClean took to Instagram to reveal the full extend of the damage to his vehicle and address the scary episode.
‘Now that the games out of the way, to address yesterday,’ he wrote. ‘An experience I never wish to encounter again, I am blessed and thankful I managed to walk away with minor injuries and return home to my family.
‘Though much to the disappointment of some smelly scruffy pathetic creatures that messaged my wife online, thank you for the messages of support.’
The 35-year-old reveal the extend of the damage to his car in his update on the crash earlier this week
James McClean was fit to captain Wrexham in their crunch match against Birmingham City
McClean started against the League One leaders despite being involved in a car accident on Wednesday
McClean was passed fit to start and captain Wrexham in their clash with Birmingham City, which pitted two of the division’s biggest spenders against one another.
Birmingham, who count NFL star Tom Brady among their ownership group, entered the match top of the League One table and seeking an immediate return to the Championship.
McClean was hoping to help Wrexham, who started the day outside the automatic promotion spots in third, close the gap to two points to the leaders with a win.
Wrexham took a ninth minute lead through Ollie Rathbone, but the visitors pulled level with a deflected Lyndon Dykes header.
A day prior, fog and ice presented treacherous conditions in North Wales as the 35-year-old ventured to the club’s training ground. One source close to the scene described ‘lots of tyre marks’ on the roundabout heading into Wrexham.
‘Wrexham AFC can confirm that a first-team player has been involved in a car accident this morning on his way to training,’ a club statement read.
‘It was a single car accident with no other vehicles involved and the relevant local authorities were quickly present at the scene.
‘The player reported to the Club this morning and will undergo further medical checks as a precaution.’
Wrexham were hoping to secure a victory to boost their League One promotion hopes
The winger’s Audi could be seen after he was involved in the accident. Fog and ice presented treacherous conditions in North Wales
McClean’s Audi was towed away from the scene with witnesses describing a smashed windscreen and significant damage to the car, which may well have to be written off as a result.
In a statement, North Wales Police said: ‘Shortly before 9am this morning (Wednesday, January 22), we received a report of a single vehicle road traffic collision on the A534 in Wrexham, near to Wrexham Golf Club.
‘Officers and colleagues from the North Wales Fire and Rescue Service attended the incident, which had blocked the road until the vehicle was recovered shortly before 10am. ‘No serious injuries were reported from the scene.’
It comes in a week where McClean has been in the headlines after he called English town Shrewsbury a ‘cesspit full of inbreds’.
McClean has drawn the ire of a large section of supporters for his refusal to wear a poppy around Remembrance Day, while he also refused to link arms with his team-mates during a minute’s silence last year.
He has made a number of attempts to try and explain the logic behind his reasoning, most recently saying: ‘People say I am being disrespectful, but don’t ask why I choose not to wear it.
Irish Wrexham star James McClean has labelled Shrewsbury ‘an absolute cesspit full of inbreds’ on social media
The Wrexham star stood separate to his team-mates observing a moment of silence ahead of Remembrance Day last year
‘If the poppy was simply about World War One and Two victims alone, I’d wear it without a problem. I would wear it every day of the year if that was the thing but it doesn’t. It stands for all the conflicts that Britain has been involved in. Because of the history where I come from in Derry, I cannot wear something that represents that.’
As a result, he is often targeted by opposition fans when playing for Wrexham in the English pyramid, and things appeared to boil over on Thursday during his side’s defeat by Shrewsbury.
A video of him being targeted with abuse during the game – which is somewhat of a rivalry, sometimes billed the ‘cross-border derby’ due to the two locations being less than an hour’s drive away either side of the border between Wales and England – went viral, and the 35-year-old took to social media to hit back in brutal fashion.
‘In fairness if I was born and raised in Shrewsbury I’d probably be this angry as well cause it’s an absolute cesspit full of inbreds,’ he wrote on his Instagram story.
