BOSS EYES CITY SOLUTIONS

Potters manager Robins wants to find a way to avoid injuries which have hampered campaign

- Peter Smith

EYES ON THE BALL: Port Vale striker Andre Gray looks put pressure on the Bradford defence last night.

(Picture: Gerard Austin)

MARK Robins wants a root and branch review of Stoke City's injury crisis after losing captain Ben Wilmot for the rest of the season.

Wilmot was ruled out for the last 10 matches after hurting himself as he blocked a Zan Vipotnik clearance at Swansea on Saturday.

It is the latest in a list of bad injuries for key players, with two goalkeepers, three strikers and two midfielders plus versatile Bosun Lawal all being unavailable for at least 10 of the 37 Championship games played so far this term, mostly since mid-November.

Stoke, in fact, had an availability rate around 90 per cent up until December and Robins wants to leave no stone unturned in an assessment of what has happened next.

"Honestly, it's something we have to look at seriously. It's unprecedented but we're doing something wrong," he said. "We can't keep getting these injuries.