Striker Kyle Lightbourne battled through a groin injury on Saturday to score Walsall's equaliser against Torquay which keeps his team in the FA Cup.

And though the Bermudian international might be doubtful for next Tuesday's replay at home, the good news is Lightbourne does not need surgery to correct the nagging injury he picked up three weeks ago.

Lightbourne, who has been playing second fiddle to Shawn Goater in the scoring charts this season in England, grabbed the spotlight as he came on as a substitute and within minutes netted the equaliser in the 1-1 draw.

Because of the injury, which he suffered against Burnley in the last round of the cup, Lightbourne started the match as a substitute. With the team down 1-0 to the last-placed Third Division side, Lightbourne was brought into the match at the start of the second half and responded by scoring the equaliser in the 50th minute -- his 10th goal of the season.

"Kyle lights up Walsall,'' said the headline in one of the national newspapers, the article noting how Lightbourne's pace transformed the match, after Torquay had taken the lead after just 90 seconds.

Walsall came close to winning the match when player-coach Kevin Wilson hit the post and Lightbourne went close with a late header.

The winners of the replay will be at home to Third Division team Wigan, following the draw made on Monday evening.

However, Lightbourne's immediate concern is the injury. He did not train with the team on Monday and saw a specialist in sports injuries yesterday and was advised to rest until Friday.

"He said it was just a torn muscle and it was just a matter of time before it heals,'' said Lightbourne. "I'll rest until Friday and see how it feels. Rest is the best thing for it.'' The specialist is well respected in the Midlands, with his clients' list including players from other clubs in the area like Birmingham and Aston Villa.

The injury could not have come at a worse time as Lightbourne is starting to find his scoring touch, having also scored in the 2-1 Auto Windscreen Trophy loss to Brighton last week.

"I was having treatment all last week,'' explained Lightbourne who has been on medication for three weeks.

"I played last Tuesday but came off at half-time. It's been giving me problems after about half an hour.

"It (injury) is obviously deep within as it is very sore after matches.'' According to Lightbourne the injury is most troublesome when sprinting and turning sharply, though it didn't stop him from scoring with a right foot shot from a sharp angle on the right soon after his arrival into Saturday's match.

"At least we get a second chance,'' said Lightbourne of next week's replay.

"It's difficult at times going to places like that with a team at the bottom of the league. It's a lifeline for them to be in the cup and they're looking to get a good result to get their season going.'' Lightbourne admitted Walsall's form of late had been better away from home.

Even so the team should be favoured at home against the last-placed team in the league.

If they can beat Torquay and then win against Wigan in the first week in January, Walsall could get a dream tie against one of the Premier League teams for the fourth round on January 27.

"We didn't play really well on Saturday, but we picked up a lot in the second half and were unlucky not to win the game when Kevin Wilson hit the post and I had a header go wide,'' the Bermudian explained.

The visibility at the match was so bad because of thick fog that at one stage it was difficult to see the length of the pitch, Lightbourne said. "It was foggy in the first half, then it cleared up and got foggy again in the second.

At one stage you couldn't even see the other goal.'' With 10 goals now under his belt, Lightbourne is confident he can hit the 20-goal mark again this season. He is hoping to get as close as possible to the 27 he netted last season in the Third Division which led Walsall to promotion.

"Things are starting to change, but now with this injury I just have to work hard and hopefully get it sorted out,'' he stated.

"I would like to get close to what I had last year. I'll try to aim as close as I can to 30. It sounds a lot right now but I want to push myself to try to get in that area.

"I just need a bit of luck. I've had a few cleared off the line and it's a fine line between them going in and going the other side of the post.'' IN THE SPOTLIGHT -- Kyle Lightbourne scored Walsall's equaliser against Torquay on Saturday in the FA Cup. Now he's fighting to recover from a groin injury in time for next Tuesday's replay.