Wrexham star James McClean was in action for the Welsh side just one day after crashing his Audi on route to training.

McClean was fit to start and captain Wrexham in their crunch League One clash with Birmingham City.

The match at the Racecourse Ground featured two of the biggest spending teams in the division.

McClean was hoping to help Wrexham, who became 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.

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

Wrexham were hoping to secure a victory to boost their League One promotion hopes

McClean started despite being left with cuts and bruises after crashing his Audi on Wednesday morning. 

The Irishman 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.

Fog and ice presented treacherous conditions in North Wales and 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.’ 

McClean was involved in a car crash outside a golf club on his way to training on Wednesday

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.