Dean Saunders admitted that he feared the worst after watching Marc Williams hobble out of action last night.
Williams lasted just eight minutes of the 1-1 draw with Preston North End having taken a knock on the same foot he broke toward the end of last season.
And as Williams headed towards the tunnel, the former Liverpool and Aston Villa attacker said he could think of little else other than the diagnosis.“I’ve just heard that Marc has a bruise and there is nothing wrong with his foot,” said a relieved Saunders.
“I couldn’t think of anything else through the first half to be honest, I was sick.
“I thought he’d broken his foot again and that would have been another striker we would have had to have signed.
“He has been having a bit of discomfort with it for a little while. He had an X-ray last week and got the all clear.
"He has been aching after training. He went over on it and hopefully it is just a fright and he felt something.
“When you get a break you get a lot of bruising around the bone, it takes ages to heal and no blood gets to that area.
“It is like when you break your finger it takes probably two years before you don’t feel any pain so hopefully it is that.
Saunders did manage to switch his attention to the game, giving praise to his side after a battling draw with the Championship outfit.“I thought we played really well first half, we knocked the ball around really well,” he said.
“As you can see some of them pulled up at the end with a bit of cramp so we are still a bit short, but they are four leagues above us, nearly five if they had won their last game the play-offs.
“Credit to the lads they played against a strong team there, they brought the two big front lads on and Chaplow came on in midfield.
“We switched systems to try and resist what was happening to us and we had chances to win it as well.
“I am pleased that they have come and played us, to play them is good for the fans and a good test for the players. I’ve still got three or four to add before the season starts.”
The game against higher opposition gave Saunders the chance to test out a different formation as the Reds went to 3-5-2 late on – and he felt it was the perfect exercise for his young team.
“There were some good performances there, they are learning the game,” he explained.“We went to three at the back towards the end of the game and some of them have never played that before.
“I was trying to teach them out on the pitch, but we need to try these things in pre-season and against good teams it is ideal.
“I was really pleased with how we passed the ball first half and how dangerous we looked, and second half I was pleased with how we defended.“If we had lost it is not the end of the world because you can try things.
“We had five or six missing tonight feeling terrible and obviously Gareth (Taylor) and Ashley (Westwood) are two big players for us.“We need a bit of experience in the team, but we have pace and that is what I want.”
Saunders also took the opportunity to take a look at trialist Matty Wolfenden, declaring his pleasure at the performance of the 21-year-old after he replaced Marc Williams with just eight minutes an the clock, before giving way to Obi Anoruo late on.
The striker was released by League One side Oldham Athletic earlier this week, and Saunders is pleased to have the chance to work with him.
He said: “He is an intelligent player, he makes great runs, he is a great signing for us.”
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