Walsall injury news: Lee Grant issues early Alex Pattison update

Lee Grant has confirmed Walsall midfielder Alex Pattison suffered a hamstring injury during their 1-0 pre-season defeat at AFC Telford United.

Pattison was introduced at half-time in Shropshire, but went down in clear discomfort just past the hour-mark.

He was unable to play any further part and Grant is concerned that Pattison could be poised for another spell on the side lines, although he stressed that it’s too early to tell at this stage.

Walsall midfielder suffers hamstring injury

“It doesn’t look good, it doesn’t look like he’s going to be with us for the next week,” Grant revealed.

“If I had to guess then I’d say that we could be without him for a good while, but I’m not guessing because I’m not in the habit of that.

“Let’s just see how we go. We’ll have to assess him over the next week or so and see where we can get with it.

“It seems to me that it’s a hamstring injury.”

Pattison was hampered by injury during his previous spell at Bradford City and missed three key games during the League Two run-in for Walsall last term.

The 28-year-old joined the Saddlers from Bradford in January and made 19 appearances in the second half of last season, scoring once and setting up three more.

Rico Browne was caught late shortly after his introduction and Sven Sprangler also fell awkwardly when challenging for the ball in the second half.

No injury concern over Walsall duo

Both received treatment but were able to continue afterwards and Grant does not expect either of them to be anything more than knocks.

“They were knocks. They look more like contact injuries,” he revealed.

“It was a physically robust game but they should be fine.”

James Connolly started and captained the team on his first Walsall appearance, while Ronan Maher also returned from an elbow injury, after replacing Pattison.

Walsall will continue their pre-season preparations with a behind-closed-doors friendly against Luton Town on Wednesday.