Friday 18 September 2015 16:33, UK
Bojan Krkic could be included in Stoke's starting XI to face Leicester at the Britannia Stadium on Saturday after boss Mark Hughes said he feels the Spaniard is close to delivering his pre-injury form.
The 25-year-old former Barcelona and Roma forward last started a Premier League game in January, when he got the winner against the Foxes.
He then suffered cruciate knee ligament damage which finished a season in which he had scored five times in 18 appearances but - having featured in the Capital One Cup and as a substitute against Arsenal this term - Hughes believes Bojan is already near the levels he produced prior to his injury.
"He's been desperate to play for about five weeks," Hughes said.
"He's understanding of the fact that I'll pick him on merit, I'll pick him when I feel he's ready and I'll pick him when I feel he can have the same impact as he had prior to the injury. He's very, very close to that point.
"We're delighted that he's an option so early. We didn't really expect him to be in my thoughts at this stage given the injury that he had. As a consequence of how well he worked and the amount of work he put in, he deserves a lot of credit.
"We're delighted we're in the position we find ourselves in and I have the option to pick him if I want.
"Everybody wants him to come back and make that immediate impact. If the timing of his comeback wasn't managed correctly, he wouldn't be in the position to come back and make the impact that we think he will do when he's back playing regularly."
Striker Mame Diouf is once again struggling with a hamstring issue and may miss the visit of the Foxes, although Glen Johnson has trained this week following a groin strain and captain Ryan Shawcross is jogging again after a back operation.
The Potters head into the weekend in the bottom three, but Hughes is relaxed over their slow start to the season which has included fixtures against Liverpool, Tottenham and Arsenal.
"It's early days, we have no anxiety," Hughes said. "We know we're a good group of players and the first win will come, ideally at the weekend."
