Stand can’t deliver as injuries hamper boss

STOKE City had a decent side in the stands as they took on Queens Park Rangers on Saturday.

- Peter Smith

OUT: Lewis Baker is one of a number of Stoke players currently sidelined by injury.

Viktor Johansson, Junior Tchamadeu, Aaron Cresswell, Ben Gibson, Lewis Baker, Steven Nzonzi, Robert Bozenik, Sam Gallagher, Nathan Lowe and Emre Tezgel were all watching on, ruled out for the time being or beyond after picking up or aggravating injuries in the last three or four weeks. Then they saw Divin Mubama leave the stadium on a stretcher.

It must be incredibly rare for a club to be hit by this amount of injuries, mostly contact injuries, in such a short space of time.

It is now five strikers who have been struck down with serious problems.

Tezgel was the first when he suffered anasty ankle injury on loan at Crewe against Bristol Rovers on December 19, having scored in five successive league matches. The 20-year-old will head back to Crewe to complete his loan when he is fit again but that still won’t be for a while.

Lowe then picked up a tibia injury at Stockport in League One. The 20-yearold has has cut short his loan and returned to Stoke so Stockport could bring in another striker but he is hoping he could be fit next month.