Stoke City have confirmed that Matt Etherington has escaped cruciate ligament damage following the injury sustained in their Cup tie with City at the weekend.
The winger was stretchered off after just 14 minutes of the tie and the early prognosis was ligament damage which would have brought about a lengthy absence. Yesterday’s scans have however handed Stoke boss Tony Pulis a boost…
“The news is as good as it could be at this stage…If the cruciate ligament had been damaged then it would have been a long lay-off, but we’re now hoping that it will be back in action sooner rather than later.”
The club will now wait for the injury to calm down before giving a better indication on the length of absence. A period of two or three weeks is already being suggested.
That’s not awful news but it’s still likely to be bad enough for Etherington’s fantasy owners. The impish midfielder has undoubtedly excelled this season with his three goal and eight assist contribution. That’s a strong return for a 5.6 signing in the Fantasy Premier League (FPL) game. Stoke’s double fixture gameweek, which began with an Etherington assist and FPL bonus at Wigan last Tuesday had seen a surge in his ownership. Over 100,000 managers had brought the Stoke man in for gameweek 25. We’re now likely to see a reverse trend.
Stoke take on Man City at the Britannia tonight without Etherington’s talents. Pulis could start with Liam Lawrence here, although Delap and his City-panicking long-throws looks a more likely candidate with Tuncay perhaps on the opposite flank. Pulis is hinting at rotation for tonight’s game with club skipper Abdoulaye Faye also back in contention. You can get more team news on tonight’s game and tomorrow’s Wigan vs Bolton clash in our team news section.