Plymouth Argyle will check on the fitness of striker Ryan Hardie and defender Lewis Gibson ahead of the Championship match away to Stoke City on Saturday.

Hardie was substituted during the second half of the 2-2 draw against Bristol City at Home Park on New Year's Day after hurting his left shoulder in a challenge. He was already playing with stitches in a badly gashed left knee, which he suffered in the pre-Christmas home game against Middlesbrough.

Gibson was ruled out of the City clash by a dead leg and watched from the directors' area in the Lower Mayflower Grandstand, not far away from potential new recruit Michael Baidoo, the midfielder from Swedish side Elfsborg who is close to completing a transfer to Argyle.

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Argyle first team coach Kevin Nancekivell said at a Press conference today (Thursday): "Ryan came off with a sore shoulder but hopefully that's not too bad. Lewis has got a dead leg at the minute so I don't know where we are in terms of availability or not, but he's here today, he's getting his treatment."

Matty Sorinola was clearly struggling towards the end of the game against City after putting in excellent performance at right wing-back but Nancekivell confirmed that cramp had been the issue for him and nothing more serious than that.

Nancekivell said: "I thought he was fantastic yesterday. He ran himself into the ground, he was tired, and that's what I want our players to be like at the end of the game. If they are all fresh at the end of the game that's probably not the scenario we want. Matty was just shattered, simple as that."

Sorinola had spells earlier this season when he was not even in the matchday squads of 20 players, before Argyle began to be hard hit by injuries, but he has started the last couple of games and performed well.

Nancekivell said: "That's what a squad game is all about. At times some players feel like it seems they are miles away from the actual starting 11 but it can change very quickly in the space of a few days.

"Matty has trained well every day, he always does, he's a great lad. He has kept himself fit and when he has come in his performances have shown his hard work that he has put in when he has not been in the team."

Nancekivell also gave an encouraging update on Mustapha Bundu, who had scored three goals in five games before suffering a hamstring injury in the second half of the 4-0 Boxing Day defeat at Coventry City.

"He's close, whether he's going to be fit enough for the weekend is probably a doubt," said Nancekivell. "He's with the rehab team and he's closer than we would have thought at first. I don't think he will make Saturday but hopefully the week after that we might be getting somewhere near it."

Stoke will be playing under their new manager Mark Robins for the first time when Argyle are the opponents at the bet365 Stadium on Saturday.

The Potters began the season with former Pilgrims' boss Steven Schumacher in charge and then replaced him with Narcis Pelach, but he too was sacked on December 27, and now they have turned to the former Coventry City boss.

On the prospect of playing Stoke with Robins now in charge of them, Nancekivell said: "There is a little bit of the unknown. Obviously, we know what they have been this season but when the new manager comes in it kind of throws it all up in the air a little bit. Our analyst guys are currently away scratching their heads wondering what we are going to be doing."

Argyle are still awaiting their first away Championship win of the season and have lost 11 of their 13 games on the road while conceding 35 goals. That dreadful record was one of the main reasons behind the club's decision to moving on from Wayne Rooney as their head coach.

Nancekivell said about the Pilgrims' dismal away record: "There has been lots of factors contributing to that. Hopefully we get the same effort and application that we had yesterday (against Bristol City) and see if we can pick up some points."

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