Walsall hint at potential Roman Dixon injury boost as Courtney Clarke remains a doubt

Lee Grant has revealed Walsall full-back Roman Dixon is in a “good position” ahead of a potential return, although Courtney Clarke remains a doubt for their trip to Exeter City on Saturday.

Dixon has missed the past four games with a knock and has not featured since making his debut as a half-time substitute during the Saddlers’ 3-0 victory at Gillingham in their league opener.

Walsall full-back returns to full training

The 21-year-old trained with support staff earlier this week and came through his first full training session since his injury on Thursday.

“Pretty close,” head coach Grant confirmed. “He trained with us today, trained early part of the week with support staff, and then trained with the full group today and did a full session.

“That was really nice and he’s in a good position.”

Latest update on Clarke’s knock

Clarke, who has made an excellent start to the season, missed the 2-2 draw at Crewe Alexandra on Tuesday night due to a minor knock.

Grant has added that his injury is not muscle-related, but has stressed the importance of providing him with the necessary time to fully recover.

That means that the in-form Saddlers winger will head into the weekend as a major injury doubt.

He added: “We didn’t predict that Courtney’s was going to keep him out for too long, but we have to wait and see.

“We managed to get him on the grass today, but that one will need as much time as possible to assess.

“It’s not a muscle injury, which is important, so thankfully we’ve not got to worry about something that could go or get worse if we take a risk.

“But at the same time, we’ve got to manage pain and how functional people can be. So we’re going to have to give that as much time as possible.”