Wishing Wrexham’s Katie Barker the speediest of recoveries

Wrexham star striker Katie Barker has delivered the devastating news that she has a serious knee injury which will keep her out of football for some time.
The 25-year-old has sustained a rupture of her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL).
“Katie will see a specialist in the coming days and begin her rehabilitation under the care of the club,” said a Wrexham AFC Women statement.
Barker left the following message on her social media account: “Devastated to say that I’ve ruptured my ACL. The long road to recovery starts now and I will be back stronger and more motivated than ever.”
Barker joined Wrexham at the start of last season and finished the campaign as Adran Premier leading scorer with 25 goals.
She won not only the league title with the Red Dragons, but also the Genero Adran Trophy.
In all competitions, she knocked in 29 goals in 27 appearances.
Barker has also been flying this season, notching 11 goals in seven league outings, taking her grand total for the club to 40 goals from 34 games.
The player began her career at Sunderland, where she played between 2017-18 and 2019-20.
Next came a fairytale move to Newcastle, where her goals helped The Magpies land the FA Women’s National League Division One North title in 2022-23 before back-to-back promotions were sealed the following season where the Premier Division North championship was secured.
This earned the black and whites elevation to Women’s Super League 2.
Barker is Newcastle’s record goalscorer, with 67 goals, and her strike against Alnwick Town in May 2022 made her the first woman to score at St James’ Park.
She turned full-time professional in June 2023, and left Newcastle with 120 appearances to her name, the second-most in the club’s history.
A massive favourite with Wrexham fans, get well soon messages have flooded club social media today.