Stoke City boss gives injury update after key defender misses Millwall draw
Enda Stevens is set to undergo a scan on Monday to see how quickly he can be back in action for Stoke City.
The influential left-back, with figures to back up just how much difference he has made since joining as a free agent last year, missed Stoke's draw with Millwall yesterday after picking up what was described as 'a knock' in the 96th minute of a mid-week win at Blackburn Rovers. Eric Bocat took his place in defence and would apparently have got the nod anyway as 34-year-old Stevens manages his body through the blood and thunder of a season.
The silver lining is that Stevens has two weeks until the next game, away at Queens Park Rangers, as the Championship goes into an international break.
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Narcis Pelach said: "The assessment will come on Monday, the scan. I hope Monday evening I will know something. It happened in minute 96 against Blackburn. It's bad luck. He wasn't going to play in this game, I was going to play Eric Bocat, I was going to rotate him because Eric deserved a game. Eric finished cramping because of all the effort.
"I want to say that all the subs are brilliant. Lewis Koumas, Michael Rose, Sol Sidibe, Ben Wilmot. They are all very good and I'm very pleased with them."
Bosun Lawal (back) is stepping up his training, Lynden Gooch (knee) is hoping to do likewise towards the end of this month and Sam Gallagher (hamstring) is hoping to make progress over the break. Ben Pearson (hamstring) is still a long-term problem.