Mattis joined Wasall from Barnsley in July 2008

Walsall midfielder Dwayne Mattis will be out of action for a matter of weeks after it was confirmed that his calf injury is not as bas as first feared.

Mattis, 27, was stretchered off in Saturday's 2-1 win over Brentford and has had stitches in a wound that will remain in place for a fortnight.

"It could have been worse," Walsall manager Chris Hutchings told the Saddlers' website.

"Once the stitches have been removed, he'll join back in with the group."

Meanwhile, Hutchings has praised Alex Nicholls for his performance on the right wing in the victory at the Banks's Stadium.

The 22-year-old, who usually plays as a striker, scored Walsall's opener then laid on Troy Deeney's 85th-minute winner.

"He played there [on the right] last year for me consistently," Hutchings told BBC WM.

"He did very well in midweek at Leeds playing up the middle and if everybody would've been fit, there's probably a good chance he'd have stayed down the middle.

"But obviously with Tilly [winger Peter Till] being injured, we had to re-jig a little bit."

Another winger, long-term injury victim Steve Jones, was an unused substitute against for the Brentford game, but Hutchings said he is "not quite fit yet".

E-mail this to a friend

Printable version