Walsall v Tranmere - George Bennett match preview
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00:00Good evening, Sadler's fans. I spoke to Matt Sadler today, head of Walsall's lunchtime fixture against Tranmere Rovers at Bescot on Saturday.
00:09And Walsall will be going in search of a club record eighth consecutive league win, so a chance to make history for the table-topping Sadlers.
00:23But before we get on to any talk of the game, there are a few injury updates to go through, starting with Jack Aron.
00:33He was forced off with an ankle injury during Walsall's 2-0 win against Newport County in the final game of 2024.
00:41Matt Sadler was initially unable to commit to a time frame as he waited for the swelling to go down.
00:48He had a scan last week and Sadler revealed today that he is staring at a 10-12 week absence.
00:55He had surgery on the issue today and just another blow for the midfielder who has been plagued by injuries since arriving at the club from Halifax Town in 2021.
01:09Missed 11 months in 2023 of a serious knee injury. Had a really good spell in the team last season, scoring against Wrexham and Grimsby.
01:20And then missed the tail end of the campaign with a hamstring injury.
01:25And he's been overtaken in the pecking order by Charlie Lakin and Jamie Jellis this season, but still had many appearances off the bench.
01:3120 appearances in total in League 2, but he's probably looking at a potential April return.
01:38And the same can be said for George Hall. He is another who has been marred by injuries over the past 18 months.
01:48A really exciting rise at Birmingham City in the Championship, and that's been derailed by a couple of hamstring injuries.
01:57He went on loan to Walsall to kind of get that potential back on track.
02:01And after being eased into the first team fold by Sadler, he was really starting to make good of his loan spells.
02:09Scored an EFL trophy against Shrewsbury Town. Got off the mark in the league against Notts County.
02:15Had a run of three starts with the last coming in the 1-0 win over Port Vale.
02:20But the following weekend in the build up to the Barrow win, suffered another hamstring injury on the eve of that game.
02:28Sadler initially earmarked a potential six to eight week absence.
02:33And unfortunately, after returning to continuous rehabilitation with his parent club, Birmingham, he went to see a consultant.
02:41And he's had to undergo an operation, which is again, likely to keep him out for a similar timeframe to Jack Heeran.
02:47So Sadler is still hopeful that he could see him in a Walsall shirt before the season is over.
02:53But clearly another major blow for him.
02:56There was some positive news on the injury front.
02:59Josh Gordon, he has been out with a hamstring problem since the end of August.
03:06Hobbled off in the 2-1 win over Cheltenham Town early on.
03:12And he returned to full training towards the end of last month.
03:16And Sadler talked about the importance of easing him back into the fold after what has been a long term absence.
03:24He's a major doubt for the weekend.
03:26But Sadler has hinted at his plans to have some involvement and be in the squad for the trip to Peterborough United in the EFL trophy next week on Tuesday evening.
03:38So a positive on Josh Gordon.
03:41And obviously Priestley Ferguson still out with a thigh injury, which he's been out with since August.
03:50And in terms of the game itself, like I said, Walsall going for that club record.
03:56Sadler spoke about that and the fact that he's not paid any attention to the record books.
04:02But clearly it's a chance to make history for Walsall.
04:05Walsall equaled a club record seven consecutive league wins with the comeback win over Notts County on New Year's Day.
04:14That's only the fourth time that they've had seven wins in a row in the league in their history.
04:19The last time coming in 2005 under Paul Merson.
04:25And Tranmere have been suffering with homesickness this season on a spell of five consecutive away defeats in League Two.
04:35The fewest points away from home against Walsall, who have collected more points, 29 on home soil than any team in the division.
04:44And a run beaten in 14 games, 10 points clear at the summit.
04:47So things are very, very rosy at Beskott at the minute.
04:49But Sadler will be sure to make sure that no one is resting on their laurels.
04:54And he only has to look back to the reverse fixture as Walsall lost 1-0 at Tranmere to know the threats that they pose.
05:02But Walsall will be hoping for another maximum to continue what has been a glorious season so far.