Wrexham goalkeeper Mark Howard says he is ready for his first league start in 12 months.

Callum Burton suffered a thigh injury early in the first half of Tuesday's 1-0 win over Barnsley and will miss Saturday's League One game at Burton Albion.

Howard, 38, gets his opportunity with first choice Arthur Okonkwo still a few weeks away from a return after a wrist injury.

"These things happen and it's unfortunate but I'm ready when called upon," Howard said.

"I do try and treat every week as if I'm playing anyway, whether I'm in the stand or on the bench.

"I'll prepare for a Saturday game because you never know and obviously that epitomised it the other night.

"When I'm called upon I'll be ready and you'll see that with a lot of the lads that are not involved at the moment.

"We train hard every day and are the first ones on the training pitch and the last ones off it.

"I think that's just the mentality of our squad – the ones that aren't playing push each other a lot."

Wrexham have yet to reveal how long Burton will be out of action, with the 28-year-old having a scan on the injury this week.

Howard replaced Burton after only 23 minutes of Tuesday's game against Barnsley, his first league appearance in nearly a year since he started against Colchester United in League Two.

His only other appearance this season came as a substitute against Port Vale in the EFL Trophy, and manager Phil Parkinson was full of praise for the veteran keeper's professionalism.

"These sort of things are challenging at times but I know what I've signed up for now," Howard told BBC Sport Wales.

"We've got such a great goalkeeping unit here with Callum and Arthur and I've really enjoyed the last year pushing the two of them.

"My role has obviously changed to a bit more of a mentorship role."

Howard joined Wrexham in the summer of 2022 and helped the club win back-to-back promotions.

He believes clubs benefit from having an experienced back-up goalkeeper.

"You look at all of the Premier League teams – they all have this third choice goalkeeper that has played at a very high level or done that job before," Howard added.

"It's not just what you see us do when we can play, it's more about how we can help in the dressing room and mentalities.

"You look at Scott Carson and Andy Lonergan.

"These people have done it for years and are there for a reason because they're good enough to make sure the standards are high enough in training, but also if you ever do need them you know they've got the experience of knowing how to cope with it.

"It's something I'm learning now because I've been used to playing for a huge portion of my career, so I'm adapting to that as well and it's something I have enjoyed."