Darren Byfield's Walsall fitness fight

Walsall captain Darren Byfield faces a race to be fit for Saturday's game at Dagenham and Redbridge after suffering a setback in his recovery from a knee injury.

The striker had a cortisone injection yesterday and is now a doubt for the trip to the Daggers, as the Saddlers look to move away from the League One drop zone.

Byfield has been sidelined since falling badly in the 2-1 defeat to Swindon last month and manager Chris Hutchings will handle him with care.

He said: "Darren has had a cortisone injection in his knee to help it settle down. He will rest it today and hopefully be joining in tomorrow.

"He may be involved, we are just waiting to see."

The 34-year-old has suffered an injury-hit season after an earlier Achilles problem and has made only six appearances - scoring once in the 3-2 defeat at Rochdale.

Byfield was made skipper during pre-season but the armband has been taken by Aaron Lescott in his absence and the Saddlers have struggled without him, winning just once in their last nine games.

Midfielder Richard Taundry is also still sidelined with a knee injury and Hutchings has ruled him out for another week at least.

He said: "Saturday is too soon for Richard, that's for sure.

"He's not joined in any games and not trained with us as a group, so we are waiting to see how he goes."