Monday 3 August 2015 13:28, UK
Stoke manager Mark Hughes will not rush summer signing Bojan back into action too early as the Spaniard continues his recovery from a knee ligament injury.
Former Barcelona forward Bojan began his first game on his return to fitness in the Colonia Cup defeat to Porto on Sunday.
The 24-year-old played just over an hour in the pre-season friendly at the RheinEnergieStadion and Hughes is content with the progress he is making as he prepares his side for the Super Sunday clash with Liverpool.
"It was good to give him a decent run out because that's what he now needs," Hughes told the club’s official website.
"It's important that he gets game time, not just to boost his fitness levels but for his confidence as well.
"It's obvious at the moment that he is not quite there yet and he understands that but with the progress he is making then he will get there very soon, but it's one of those things that will certainly take a bit of time.
"We're very confident of that, he is training every day with the rest of the group now so we will continue to be patient with him and hopefully get him back sooner rather than later.”
But the news on Potters captain Ryan Shawcross is not quite so positive, with the defender due to see a specialist this week as he continues his recovery from a back problem.
Shawcross has been struggling with the problem since the second half of last season and has been limited to just one appearance in pre-season as he played 65 minutes of the 2-0 defeat at Brentford on July 25.
"As we all know, Ryan has got an issue with his back which he is going to get checked out this week," added Hughes.
"Obviously it isn't resolving itself so he will see a specialist early this week and hopefully we can gain more information following that meeting.
"He hasn't had too much game time and he has been struggling in training also, so we need to get it sorted once and for all."
Watch Stoke v Liverpool as part of Super Sunday. Coverage begins on Sky Sports 1 at 3:30pm.
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