Weather hits duo's rehab

Frozen pitches have forced the Saddlers to switch training to plastic 'field turf', ruling Boertien and Dobson out of the full-scale sessions as they attempt to battle back from knee injuries.

Boertien is hoping to move his rehab' forward by taking part in this evening's reserves clash with Wolves at AFC Telford but even that is now in doubt because of the cold snap.

The presence of the artificial pitch at the Banks's Stadium means that the rest of the Saddlers squad have been able to continue training despite their training pitches at Delves Green Road.

But they are not considered suitable for either Boertien or Dobson, who are both still on the road to recovery after surgery.

Manager Richard Money said: "The big problem we've got with both of them at the moment is the weather.

"We've been training on field turf for the last week and they can't train on that because it's not suitable.

"So at the moment they are not able to train with the main group even though they are both probably at a stage where they should be.

"Paul will probably play some part in the game at Telford but even that might be off because of the weather.

"We are lucky to have the field turf pitch because it means we can carry on training.

"But it is a risky surface for players who are coming back from injuries like Paul and Michael are.

"Paul will almost certainly play some part if tonight's game goes ahead but Michael isn't quite ready as he hasn't been able to train with the group at all yet."

Both players face a battle to reclaim their first team shirts when the weather allows them to step up their comebacks.

Boertien has seen Daniel Fox revert to left-back in his absence and establish himself as one of the club's most consistent players.

And Mark Bradley and Darren Wrack have responded to the loss of Dobson by forming a promising partnership in central midfield.