Walsall’s injury curse has struck again after Clayton Ince was hit by a knee injury.
The goalkeeper suffered bruising to the bone against Gillingham last month and has admitted defeat after initially trying to train through the pain.
Ince, who has been kept on the bench by Rene Gilmartin in the last three games, is now a major doubt to make the squad for Saturday’s League One trip to Hartlepool.
The 37-year-old missed the reserves’ 2-1 defeat to Derby last night and joins the growing list of players on the treatment table.
Troy Deeney, Manny Smith and Clayton McDonald are all big doubts for the Victoria Park outing while Richard Taundry, Peter Till and Stephen Roberts are definitely out.
“Clayton’s got bone bruising which is quite painful and it’s another thing we’ll assess daily,” said assistant manager Martin O’Connor.
“It’s amazing because at one stage we had no-one in the treatment room. It’s now busier than the changing room. It’s a slow process and we’re assessing them every day.
“I‘ve said before we’ve got a fantastic rehab department and they’ll get them back ASAP.”
But O’Connor, who oversaw last night’s totesport.com League Central Division defeat, has set a deadline for the quartet to prove their fitness.
Deeney and McDonald limped out of the weekend’s 1-1 draw with Swindon with respective ankle and thigh injuries. Smith is struggling with a knee injury and none have trained this week.
O’Connor said: “We’re looking for Troy to train on Friday at least, if he doesn’t then he’s not going to Hartlepool. That’s the way we do it, the same as Manny Smith, Clayton Ince and Clayton McDonald.”
But O’Connor says he and boss Chris Hutchings will not rush them back in fear of losing them for longer.
“The four of them want to play which is good for us but we don’t want to risk them for one game and then they might be out for three or four weeks,” he said.
“If they miss this game then hopefully they’ll be back for the Huddersfield match on Tuesday.”
Ince’s absence could hand 18-year-old keeper Tim Cooney another chance on the Saddlers’ bench after he was an unused substitute at Norwich.
“He’s done it before, it wouldn’t be a problem for Tim,” added O’Connor.