SHAUN PEARSON is expected to be out of action for around a month.

The influential Wrexham captain, yet to play this season, has undergone surgery on his foot and Reds' boss Dean Keates believes the centre-back will be missing for about four weeks.

"Shaun has had his operation and he is doing well," said Keates.

"He will be a fair few more weeks but he is not far off. I think you are looking at three, four, maybe five weeks but we don't know.

"It is all about the healing process now and him picking up strength in it, and getting it going again.

"He is back in at some point this week to get the stitches removed and then he will be back with us for the rehab-side towards the end of the week."

Pearson sustained the injury towards the back end of the 2019-20 campaign before it was abruptly ended due to the coronaviris crisis.

The 31-year-old had been due to go under the knife before the start of the pandemic but lockdown meant he was left kicking his heels.

And although there were signs of progress in pre-season, Keates said there was no other option than for Pearson to undergo surgery, keeping him out of the start to Wrexham's 13th campaign in non-league.

"It is similar to the operation I had a fair few years ago at the football club," said Keates. "I had them both done.

"Shaun will come back from it and all being well, completely free of the pain and soreness that he was suffering during games and away from the football club.

"It is not ideal how it has happened. It got worse so it is something we had to address and it has been done now."

As well as being without Pearson, Keates has a mounting injury list to contend with.

Paul Rutherford limped out of Saturday’s 4-3 defeat at Wealdstone and joins Mark Carrington, Anthony Jeffrey, Jake Bickerstaff and Jordan Ponticelli on the sidelines.

But Keates is hoping that some of the players will be available when Wrexham face Solihull Moors at Damson Park in Saturday’s FA Cup fourth qualifying round tie.

“It was one of those weeks for us last week, said Keates.

“We picked up a fair few injuries.

“There is an outside chance that we might have one or two back by the weekend, we have got a few days to assess the situation.

“It is not ideal. We have pride in ourselves with managing the soft tissues.

“We just seem to have accumulated them in a short space of time.

“It is something that we have had discussions about regarding what we have done.

“But sometimes these things just happen and one or two of them you just can’t control.”

Wrexham head to Solihull on the back of two successive defeats against teams who went into the games sitting bottom of the National League.

When asked whether there was even more significance on the cup tie after losing those matches, Keates added: "There was always added importance," said Keates.

"Every game that this club represents, we have to go and win."