Walsall defender Kory Roberts: Injury was career changing

The 21-year-old suffered a devastating leg break in July 2018 during a pre-season match against Stoke.

Around 14 months later the defender returned to action against Southampton U21s in the EFL Trophy on Tuesday, coming off the bench in added time.

Despite only being on the field for around two minutes, the centre-back is delighted to return after a "horrible" time during recovery.

“Its career changing," Roberts said.

"Football is my life, I couldn't see anything else other than football. The injury, it makes you see how lucky you are to be in this job.

"It's difficult to come back because your mind is all over the place.

"You have to do all the boring stuff in the gym but you have to make sure you do that so you come back.

"The past 14 months has been horrible, seeing the same four walls in the gym, but you have to do every rep and grind it out because you know if you don't this is your career at stake.

“There have been a lot of ups and downs.

"When it first happened it was the worst feeling ever but then throughout the journey there are a lot of different things you go through.

"You’re walking on crutches, and then you’ve got a boot so you’re never doing the same thing. It wasn’t as bad as I thought and it’s only made me stronger as a person."

After breaking his tibia and fibula bones in his left leg, Roberts was forced to sit out the whole of last season as he watched Walsall get relegated from League One.

“We got off to an amazing start last season but it was horrible to watch knowing you can’t do anything or help change it so it was horrible to see the club get relegated, the worst feeling," he said.

But the moment he returned to action was a special moment for the youngster.

“You look forward to the moment you're coming back," he added.

"You imagine loads of things like scoring a goal or a big tackle but it’s just an amazing feeling.

"I came on for a couple of minutes but that couple of minutes (against Southampton) was a big couple of minutes for me.

“As soon as I put my shirt on I heard the fans roaring and wanted to get me on.

"The ball went out of play and the ref wasn't letting me come on, all the fans were going mad so it just felt good. When I finally got on it was an amazing feeling.

“It feels good to be back in a Saddlers shirt.

"It’s been a long time coming, just over 14 months it’s been and it feels so good. The reception from the fans was amazing, the warm feeling they gave me, it felt good."

With Darrell Clarke coming in as manager in the summer, bringing with him new backroom staff, they've been limited in what they could see of Roberts on the football pitch.

But assistant Brian Dutton says Roberts has been a "credit to the football club" by overcoming this major setback.

"It is (a footballer's worst nightmare)," he said.

"But since we've been through the door Kory Roberts has been a credit to the football club.

"He's worked hard, his strength and conditioning work that he puts in behind the scenes has been phenomenal.

"It's a horrifying injury but it's all down to mental strength, you can come back from anything as long as you're strong mentally and Kory's shown that so far.

"Obviously the fans were keen on him from the reception he got, hopefully now he can kick on."