Walsall fear worst on Rory Holden knee scan

The influential attacking midfielder missed the Boxing Day trip to Salford after suffering an injury in training leading up to the game. He was in the stands for the home clash with Scunthorpe , wearing a brace on his left knee and using crutches. “There’s a concern with Holden, you can see him on crutches at the minute,” Clarke said. “We need that scan to see where we are with that. We’re having a scan but it’s not looking good.

“Until we get the results of the scan – hopefully we get some good news with that. He is a key cog isn’t he. Everyone is aware of the key cog and the link between the midfield and attack and the formation that suits us best as a team when he’s in that role.”

Saddlers struggled to break down Scunthorpe in the 2-1 loss in a game where Holden could have been key. “We can’t dwell on it (Holden’s injury) and I don’t want to look at excuses,” he added.

“It’s nice to see Nursey (George Nurse) back getting some minutes under his belt.

“It’s disappointing that Jack Rose has had to come off injured as well.

“We’re not going to use injuries as an excuse. Nine times out of 10 we win that game but we didn’t win, so we have to react.”

With only one point at home earned from games against Southend, Stevenage and Scunthorpe, Walsall have failed to beat the struggling sides in the division.

“It’s very frustrating, that’s where you have to pick your points up from to get yourself up the table,” defender Nurse added.