Walsall v Harrogate preview: No Freddie Draper but Ronan Maher set for return

Boss Mat Sadler has revealed that Draper has returned to parent club Lincoln for medical attention and is expected back at Essington early next week.

“Freddie has got a similar injury to what (Tom) Knowles had (earlier in the season). We don’t think it’s as bad as that, but Freddie has gone back to Lincoln to be with them for a few days,” Sadler said.

“We expect to get him back at the start of next week. We don’t think it’s too bad but it’s enough to be a pain for the moment.”

Harrogate trail Walsall by four places in 19th but the two teams are separated by just one point.

The Sulphurites have been impressive on the road of late, and are looking to record a fifth away win on the spin in all competitions. They boast the fifth best away record in the division, and have earned 68 per cent of their league points on their travels.

Only Wimbledon have conceded fewer goals (seven) away from home than Harrogate (nine), and Sadler insists his side must be on the front foot from the first whistle.

“Someone said to me yesterday that he (Simon Weaver) is the longest-serving manager in the top four divisions, which means that they’ve got that continuity there,” said Sadler.

“They’ve got a manager that knows the level and is really experienced with the group he has got.

“Some of them have been together with him for a long time and they know exactly how they go about things.

“We’ve got to be right on the top of it, really on our game, and really on them from the first to the last whistle.

“That’s how we will approach the game. It’ll be a tough afternoon, and it’ll be an even tougher afternoon if we don’t start on the front foot with our energy and with that desire to do the horrible things to then earn ourselves the right to play.”

“They are a good team. They pose a different challenge as every team does, but it’ll be a tough one. But reflecting on us, we know we need to go about it in the right way.”

Sadler also revealed that Rollin Menayese looks to be past the worst of his injury, after marking his return with a cameo from the bench at Sheppey.

Nonetheless, Priestley Farquharson (foot), Harry Williams (ankle) and Aramide Oteh (hamstring) remain out of action.

Jack Earing has returned to training in the past two weeks, and will be involved in contact training next week with the view of a potential return in early December.

Ronan Maher was also recalled from his loan spell at Rushall Olympic on Tuesday, and Sadler is confident he can make an impact at Bescot after his experience in the National League North.

“When we lost Rem (Oteh), there was a time in the Mansfield game when I was looking, thinking, I’d really like another option in the wide area,” he revealed.

“Ronan gives me that and he has been doing really well there. I thought a hell of a lot about it, it wasn’t on a whim that I made the decision because I know that I wanted him to play games and wanted him to keep playing games there.

“He is doing great and played really well in the last month to six weeks.

“The loan is exactly what I wanted. He found himself out of favour when he first got there, and fought his way into it to then become an integral part of their group.

“He only comes back to me because I think he can affect the team now.”