Yahoo News Stoke City injury news as senior midfielder suffers blow and summer signing on standby for debut
Stoke City have been dealt a blow with news that Ben Pearson has suffered a set-back in his recovery from a hamstring injury.
The 29-year-old midfielder missed the last month of last season with an injury that ultimately needed surgery in the off-season and hopes of a return to training around October – still in the knowledge that he would need a mini pre-season of his own – have had to be shelved.
Fellow midfielder Bosun Lawal is still waiting for the green light to join in training as he recovers from a back injury picked up in his medical but the 21-year-old knew he would have to be patient to make sure the problem had properly healed.
READ MORE:Stoke City boss holds individual meetings with players as he sets out on promise
READ MORE:'Maybe I should have ignored Stoke City requests and why three weeks felt like three years'
Narcis Pelach, who is preparing for an away day at Middlesbrough on Saturday (3pm), said: “Ben Pearson is going to be a long time, he’s been reinjured and it’s not going as it should go so we’ll need to wait for him. It’s going to be a long time until he comes back.
“Bosun Lawal is going to come back quicker but we cannot speculate. We’ll just be patient with him.”
There were worries that Lynden Gooch would be out for a significant time after he picked up a knee injury in the 1-0 defeat at Oxford United, which turned out to be Steven Schumacher’s final game in charge.
He won’t be available imminently but it is still perhaps a better diagnosis than had been initially feared, with Pelach looking forward to introducing him back into the group whenever that might be rather than spend the rest of the season in the treatment room.
Pelach said: “I can’t give you an exact time but it will be longer than we would like. He’s a good player and I’m looking forward to coaching him and having him in the squad. He’s good around the place as well. It will be a little while yet.”
Ashley Phillips will miss the Middlesbrough game as he continues to observe concussion protocol after taking a whack to the head in the Carabao Cup tie against Fleetwood.
But Sam Gallagher will be available to make his debut, probably from the bench, after recovering from a calf injury he picked up in the final friendly of pre-season.
“Sam Gallagher trained this week,” said Pelach. “He’s not at his best level from a physical point of view, of course, having spent weeks out but he’s ready to come back and he’ll be involved. The minutes are limited for him of course but I expect to see him and if he’s needed to play and help the team he will do it.”
Andrew Moran is also on standby to be reintroduced after being laid low by a bug that was in the camp last week and ruled him out of the Hull game last Friday.
Pelach said: “He’s over the illness, he’s back and I’m very happy to have him. He’s a very good player and he will give us lots of things. I really like the profile of the player we have here with him, young and energetic, wants the ball. I think it’s a player who will give us lots of good attributes.”
Stoke’s reward for beating Fleetwood is a last 16 away tie at Southampton in the final week of October.
