Rory Delap’s shoulder injury looks as though it’s likely to hamper his appearances and fantasy returns over the coming weeks but it has unearthed another possible bargain purchase in Ibrahima Sonko…

Delap felt his shoulder early on against Fulham at the weekend so Sonko took on Stoke’s long-throw duties as he did against Newcastle the week before. While the giant defender can quite match Delap for pace and accuracy, distance wise he can clearly do a job.

Stoke apparently have other candidates for the role in Higginbotham and Wilkinson who is currently starting for the injured Griffin. However, Sonko has started the last two in defence, a run that has coincided with Delap’s turn for the worse. An injury to Shawcross allowed Sonko to come back into the side, but his performance against Fulham and the added bonus of his long-throws should be enough for him to keep his place.

Couple the assist potential with Stoke’s not too shabby defensive record at home and Sonko suddenly becomes a decent fantasy prospect in the bargain bracket. He is currently priced at 4.0 in the Fantasy Premier League game.

The one major drawback to his current potential are some rather tough fixtures over the next month. These include United and Liverpool in the next two home games, while the other four of the next six games are away from home.