Stoke boss Tony Pulis has received two injury updates that will boost his side going into Christmas, with good news on Sidibe’s knee injury and the possible return of Liam Lawrence at the weekend…

Sidibe was expected to be out for months having suffered cruciate ligament damage against Fulham last weekend. That is not the case – there’s no serious ligament problem and the towering striker is expected to make a return and come back into our fantasy plans early in the New Year.

One player who could enter our thoughts before then is Liam Lawrence. He is set to return to first team action this weekend at Blackburn having spent the last three months out with an ankle injury inflicted by his pet dog. The winger is said to be fit and available and could possibly go straight back into the side at Ewood.

Lawrence is a key player for Stoke – he’ll hog all of their set-plays and will probably relieve Fuller of spot-kick duties. He’ll also contribute assists in open play of course and is likely to be amongst the FPL bonus points when Stoke fair well. In the Championship promotion season Lawrence contributed 15 goals and 15 assists. While he’ll never get near that kind of output in the Premiership, his influence on Stoke’s attacking play is not in doubt.

In the Fantasy Premier League game, Lawrence has dropped in price and is now available for 5.1 from 5.5. That makes him a ready-made replacement for the ailing Delap who has had his main weapon – the long-throw – put out of action by a shoulder injury. However, Lawrence’s potential this month is likely to hamstrung somewhat by Stoke’s fixtures – they take on United, Chelsea and Liverpool over the next five.