BEN FOSTER has come out of retirement to sign for Wrexham until the end of the season.

The experienced goalkeeper, 39, has been brought in on a short-term deal after Rob Lainton sustained knee ligament damage in Saturday's 2-1 win at Bromley and is set to miss the remaining eight games of the National League campaign as the Reds challenge for the title.

No stranger to Wrexham supporters. Forster returns to The Racecourse 18 years after he last played for the club, on a loan spell which included a starring role in the 2-0 LDV Vans Trophy Final victory against Southend United at the Millennium Stadium.

Foster, who will compete with Mark Howard for a starting place, told the official club website: “I’m over the moon. I’ve been at the club an hour this morning and it seems a really nice place. Everyone is down to earth and the manager’s top class.

“It’s changed a lot since I was last here, but it’s nice to be back and it’s nice to be back as a player too. It will be interesting to see how my body feels after training today! I’m looking forward to getting started.

“The first time I was here, it was genuinely the springboard to the rest of my career – on the back of the loan move, playing in the LDV Vans Trophy Final at the Millennium Stadium, I got my move to Manchester United at the start of the next season. It was absolutely bonkers!

“If you’d told me 18 years ago that I’d have gone on to have the career that I have had, I probably wouldn’t have believed you to be honest so I do owe a lot to Wrexham.”

Foster first arrived at Wrexham on loan from Stoke City in 2005, making 21 appearances in all competitions to earn his move to Old Trafford.

He made 23 appearances for United, and spent two seasons on loan with Watford, before moving to Birmingham City and then West Bromwich Albion.

He returned to Watford in 2018, and was an ever present in the next two Premier League campaigns, before helping the Hornets bounce back to the top flight after relegation.

Last season, he made a further 26 Premier League appearances and arrives back at Wrexham having made more than 500 club appearances, as well as earning eight England caps.

On his podcast in September 2022, Foster announced his retirement from football but has been recruited by Reds' boss Parkinson who said: “We’re delighted to welcome Ben to the Club.

“With Rob Lainton getting injured at the weekend, it was important we had all bases covered going into the last part of the season, which this signing ensures."