Walsall defender Harrison Burke 'not expected' to be fit for Colchester United clash
Mat Sadler says he does not expect Walsall defender Harrison Burke to be available for the visit of Colchester United on Saturday.
The 23-year-old has missed the last four league games due to a knee injury, which he suffered during the Saddlers’ 2-1 home win over Bristol Rovers on October 4.
Burke returned to training at the start of last week, but suffered a minor setback to delay his return to action.
Burke suffers minor setback
Sadler has revealed Burke is unlikely to feature against the U’s, but has earmarked a potential comeback for the trip to Harrogate Town on November 22.
“Harrison did all of his work and was out there in training with us on Tuesday,” boss Sadler revealed.
“He just felt a little bit of a tweak in that knee still, so we just moved him back a stage to make sure that that final bit of healing gets through.
“We don’t expect him to be fit for Saturday, but we’re hoping to get him pushed for Harrogate."
Rico Browne set to deputise again
Rico Browne has deputised in defence in Burke’s absence and scored his first goal for the club during their 4-2 win at Newport County on Saturday.
The victory in South Wales ended the Saddlers’ three-match winless run in League Two and kept them top of the table on goal difference.
Prior to beating Newport, Walsall had suffered back-to-back league defeats against Barrow and Cheltenham Town respectively.
Burke, who arrived from non-league Chester in the summer, has scored once in 10 matches for Walsall in all competitions this term.
Including cup competitions, Burke has missed seven games in total, despite his injury initially not expected to be serious.
His only goal proved to be the match-winner in a 1-0 triumph over Salford City at Bescot on August 23.
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