Premier League: Stoke City forward Bojan Krkic undergoes successful knee surgery in Barcelona
Friday 13 February 2015 13:51, UK
Stoke City manager Mark Hughes has confirmed Bojan Krkic has left hospital in Spain after a successful knee surgery.
The Spanish playmaker has undergone an operation in Barcelona on the cruciate injury he suffered against Rochdale in the FA Cup fourth round.
Hughes was pleased to learn that the injury was not as bad as initially feared but will still be without Bojan until the summer at the earliest.
Stoke hope to have Jon Walters back for the FA Cup tie at Blackburn Rovers on Saturday after the Irish international was rested for the Manchester City game due to an ankle injury.
But Stephen Ireland, Ryan Shawcross, Erik Pieters and Marc Wilson all remain out for the game at Ewood Park.
“Of all the players who missed out on Wednesday, Jon Walters is the only one who realistically looks like he could be okay,” said Hughes.
“We left him out on Wednesday with the sole purpose of hopefully having him available to us on Saturday.
“He has a little problem which we have got to manage correctly, and that is what we have been doing with him. He hasn't trained this week, but we will see how he is today.”
Hughes also praised Frank Lampard for giving Stoke teenager Oliver Shenton his Manchester City shirt at the end of Wednesday night’s game.
Lampard sought out 17-year-old Shenton, who was playing just two days after his mother’s funeral, and gave him the memento.
Hughes said: "That is a great touch. Obviously Frank has lost close family members as well and maybe that resonated with Frank. I think that shows his class.
"He has shown a lot of maturity. Obviously it is a difficult time for him and his family, but my thinking behind trying to get him on the pitch wasn't born out of sentiment, it was because he deserved the chance, because he is a good pro - a young player we have high hopes for.
"It is credit to him that he has been able to come through a really tough period for himself and his family and was still fully engaged with the game and was desperate to get on."
