Wrexham talisman Paul Mullin broke four ribs and punctured a lung during the pre-season friendly with Manchester United in San Diego.
During the preseason tour match in San Diego, Paul Mullin, a star player for Wrexham, revealed that he had blue lips on the field following a horrific collision with Nathan Bishop, the goalkeeper for Manchester United.
In an effort to clear his lines, Bishop bumped into Mullin outside the penalty area in the 12th minute of the match at Snapdragon Stadium. The forward, who scored 46 goals in the Red Dragons’ National League title-winning campaign the previous year, was lying down on the ground getting treatment while United’s goalkeeper received a yellow card.
Mullin made a brief cameo against Doncaster Rovers following his absence from the beginning of Wrexham’s Football League comeback. Since then, he has scored four goals in nine games. The 28-year-old, though, is still thinking about the incident involving United’s now-former shot stopper, and this week he discussed it on Chris Kamara and Ben Shepherd’s Proper Football Podcast.
“It was something you obviously do not expect or want to happen while you are abroad but it did,” the striker said. “It was unbelievable, we were playing against Jonny Evans in a sold-out Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego for our preseason match against Man United. As we warmed up, I received the loudest applause in the entire stadium.
“After ten minutes, I chase after the ball when it goes behind Jonny Evans. Instead of clearing the ball, the goalie emerges, makes a bit of a mess, and cleans me out.
“Then, I started to fear the worst after I was unable to breathe for a few minutes on the ground. As the medical staff hurriedly moved forward, I noticed that there were faces above me. Afterwards, they informed me that my lips were becoming blue, and based on their expressions, I knew at that moment that something was wrong.
“But, the medical professionals we’ve got and the ones we have got on hand in the stadium made sure I was alright, well I say alright I had four broken ribs and a punctured lung.”
With the Reds trailing 2-1 at the half, Mullin said the decision to substitute Bishop—who is currently at Sunderland—was based on the response the 24-year-old was getting from the supporters. “The poor goalkeeper was getting booed every time he touched the ball,” he said.
“So, Man United had to take him off in the end because it was a friendly game and there was too much (aggro) going towards him.”
