Latest Stoke City news as the Potters face Coventry City on Saturday.
Stoke City travel to Coventry on Saturday as Alex Neil’s side look to maintain their unbeaten run.
The Potters last tasted defeat in a 2-0 away loss at Leicester City on October 7. Since losing to the Foxes, Stoke have won three and drawn one.
They take on a Coventry side this weekend who are struggling. Mark Robins’ team have lost their last four matches and have been hit with illness.
Asked if the illness was significant enough to affect his selection this weekend, Robins said: “Of course it will. If you’ve got illness in the camp people can’t perform at the maximum and that has an impact. We’ve had people off and a fair bit of illness throughout the camp and this time of year is never great.”
As for the injured players, the Sky Blues boss is hoping a clean bill of health is not too far away.
“There are some who are showing good signs of starting to come back,” he said. “We’re now just Fabio Tavares (Achilles) and Kasey Palmer (adductor) away from having a fully fit squad. Fabio’s getting there. He’s on the grass and will join in fully after this international break.
“And hopefully Kasey will be the same.”
He added: “Liam Kelly is back in training and around it again now.”
Meanwhile, asked if Callum O’Hare is ready to start a game after three cameo displays from the bench following ten months out with a serious knee injury, the manager said: “I think that there’s still more to come from Callum but he’s obviously getting closer all the time and those performances won’t have done him any harm whatsoever, and will have given him plenty of confidence, I’m sure.
“I said right from that start when he first came in and made his comeback game or comeback appearance that it would have been a benchmark for him. That’s something that he’s overcome, a lot of adversity this year with the injury and everything that he’s had to work towards.
And that gives him that goal to get back playing. Now it’s a case of getting back to the level that he was at prior to the injury but that will take time anyway. But he’s looking okay.”
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