Crewe Alexandra will be buoyed by the return of Emre Tezgel as the Railwaymen look to revitalise their promotion hopes.
Lee Bell’s side face a high-stakes showdown against a flagging Walsall side who will be without a manager following the departure of Mat Sadler earlier today.
Stoke Loanee Back In Action
In an interview ahead of the clash at Gresty Road this weekend, Bell confirmed that Tezgel could be back in the squad after a lengthy layoff against the Saddlers.
The Stoke City man, who has previous experience in League Two with MK Dons, had a great start to the season which helped Crewe push for a top-three place but that progress came undone when he succumbed to injury in December.
Prior to being ruled out of action halfway through their match against Bristol Rovers, Tezgel scored in each of his last five League Two matches for the Alex, and found the net 13 times across all competitions.
Bell said:
“Emre looks like he’s somewhere near, but we’ve just got to be careful with him.
“Stoke have been extremely good, as they have all the way through the process of having Emre with us. He came back to us last week.
“We hoped he could have been involved last Saturday, but that wasn’t the case.
“We’ll monitor it, go through his numbers, all the usual stuff, and we’ll see where he’s at for an opportunity on Saturday.”
Tezgel Return Could Save Season
With his early season output being very promising, the return of Emre Tezgel to the Crewe Alexandra senior squad could put Lee Bell’s side back on the right track at a crucial point of their season.
Walsall’s arrival at the point they have changed managers could give the visitors a crucial lift at a time they have slipped away from the top seven, meaning this is also a crucial game for Crewe to see off a rival.
With Grimsby Town having a game in hand on the Railwaymen, the Cheshire side have some ground to make up, and if Tezgel can deliver where he left off back in December, they could be well poised to leapfrog the Mariners and the teams above them in Salford City and Swindon Town.
Josh March has also delivered a strong return and with Tommi O’Reilly’s efforts spearheading their attacking efforts, adding a further dimension to their attack in the Stoke striker will be pivotal to their chances.